The Underlying Implications of Oil Discovery in East Africa

by Maurice Maina

The recent discoveries of oil in East Africa confirm the dominance of Africa, as far as endowment of natural resources is concerned.

From North, through Central to South; to West and now East of the continent. The continent is richly endowed with natural resources. East Africa has been the last frontier.

Why the continent has remained as a habitat for the world’s poor, has never been an issue of depravity of natural resources.

The announcement by President Mwai Kibaki of the oil discovery was, for instance, greeted with hope and skeptism.

Almost immediately after the announcement, local media revealed that the land upon which the oil was discovered has, already, been subject to recent speculative designs; that have seen local power brokers, including a cabinet minister rake in millions of dollars, in suspect land transfer deals.

The indigenous inhabitants of the land upon which the discovery was made have expressed fear of disruption of their pastoralism life by speculators, seeking to benefit from increased value of land they have always roamed freely.

You only have to look elsewhere in the continent to appreciate the underlying apprehension.

In North Africa, the Arab spring has exposed the bane that can accompany petrol dollars; the creation of deep seated aristocracies built out of oil wealth. Tunisia, Egypt and Libya ended up in civil strife.

In Central Africa, the democratic republic of Congo has never known peace despite rich natural resource endowment.

In Southern Africa HIV/AIDS has been wreaking havoc; xenophobia, in South Africa; and autocracy, as in Zimbabwe.

In West Africa, political instability has been the common denominator. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ("MEND") is, for example, one of the largest militant groups; it claims to expose exploitation and oppression of the people by Federal Government of Nigeria and corporations involved in the extraction of oil in the Niger Delta.

East Africans should, therefore, be wary. Lest the trend comes calling.

Already, there are concerns about Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni dislike for any opposition. He, recently, humiliated the leader of opposition for holding peaceful demonstrations; demanding action by the government against increased cost of living.

Sudan, both North and South, Somalia and Eritrea already in serious internal conflict; revolving around resource sharing and political machinations.

In the meantime, East African remains the best opportunity to apply the lessons learnt so far. In Kenya, for example, the oil discovery could not have come at a better time.

There is a new constitution in place; generated out of a participatory process that took two decades; sometimes threatening to tear down national fabric due to intense lobbying and vested interests.

The country has, also, managed to develop a blueprint of its long term development agenda in the form of a twenty year development plan: the vision 2030.

And so, it seems planning met opportunity. The lives of people of East Africa changed completely. They lived happily ever after!