Build the port

Lamu District on Kenya's coast is one of the poorest districts in the country. The poverty levels, illiteracy and childhood mortality rates are staggering. Divided into two constituencies, Lamu has been ill-served by a succession of KANU and ODM MPs for a decade since the end of the KANU hegemony in 2002. Mwai Kibaki's government, recognising the strategic position of the district, has earmarked the port of Lamu for expansion with a view to giving Kenya a gateway into South Sudan and Ethiopia. The proposed Lamu port will be one of the largest public infrastructure projects in Kenya since the construction of the Turkwell Gorge Dam completed in 1990.

The project, however, faces opposition from environmentalists and cultural conservationists. They argue that Lamu's Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, will be destroyed if the project proceeds as it is presently conceived. They are determined to block the project for the sake of conserving and protecting Lamu's unique environment and culture. They argue that other poverty reduction strategies being pursued by the government should be given time to work, as they have worked in other districts over the past decade. Some point to Kajiado District, recently identified as Kenya's wealthiest as a pointer to the changes that the government's strategies have brought to poverty-stricken districts. They ignore the fact that the port is part of a larger economic and political strategy that will not only benefit the district, but expand trade into Kenya's largely ignored North East.

Their arguments, while merited, must be seen in context. One reason why the Coast has been restive ever since Mwai Kibaki was elected president lies in the fact that poverty levels and other socio-economic indicators have not improved in the decade of Mr Kibaki's presidency. This has contributed to the persistent popularity of secessionist groups such as the Mombasa Republican Council and the recruitment of youth into banned local and regional groups such as Somalia's al Shabaab. The development of the port, if managed effectively, will not only lead to job-creation but also political stability and general improvement in the quality of life for the residents of the Coast, and not just Lamu district. The possibility f closer economic and political ties with the Republic of Sudan, that of South Sudan and Ethiopia cannot be downplayed; Ethiopia and South Sudan are set to become Kenya's largest trading partners and better transport and communication links between these three countries will ensure that the resource-based conflicts between communities living in the border areas are reduced, or even eliminated entirely.

While the ecological impacts of the project must be mitigated, they cannot be the sole reason why the project should be abandoned. Neither can the impact on Lamu's Old Town. Kenya's rich cultural diversity is rightfully a source of national pride, but the fact is it rarely benefits the people who live and work around such sites. If Lamu's Old Town is the engine of the tourism sector in Lamu, its impact on the standards of living of the people of Lamu district should have been greater. However, despite the presence of many luxury lodges and hotels in Lamu district, tourism has not improved the lives of the peoples of Lamu. No colleges of culinary arts have been established and the children of the people of Lamu continue to be educated without the benefit of resources or investment. Their living standards are what they were twenty years ago and the presence of doctors is significant for their absence.

Of course care must be taken to protect what Lamu has today and to ensure that the impacts of the proposed project are mitigated as far as possible. But the project must be allowed to proceed. Its benefits to the people of Lamu, the Coast and the nation are too great for this chance to be abandoned. The knock-on effects of the project on the lives and livelihoods of the people will be far greater than if the district was preserved a sit is today. This is the right thing to do.