Fishermen and loggers ask government to speed up the release of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), which was formulated almost five years.
Led by spokesperson Mohamed Mbwana, the two groups have expressed disappointment over the manner in which the government is handling the matter.
The RAP is the only document that describes clearly how the fishermen and mangrove loggers concerns will be addressed.
More than 10,000 fishermen and mangrove loggers displaced by the ongoing dredging at the Lamu port have faulted the government for delay in releasing resettlement plans.
The port in Lamu West is part of the Sh2.5 trillion Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia (Lapsset).
So far, the construction work for the first three berths at the port site is at 42 per cent complete with the first berth expected to be ready by June this year.
But speaking to the Business Daily in Lamu on Tuesday, the fishermen and loggers asked the government to speed up the release of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), which was formulated almost five years.
Led by their spokesperson Mohamed Mbwana, the two groups expressed disappointment over the manner in which the government was handling the matter.
Address concerns
The RAP is the only document that describes clearly how the fishermen and mangrove loggers concerns will be addressed.
The plan is also supposed to help ascertain the amount of compensation, if any, and also prescribe a clear resettlement plan where necessary.
“We have waited for so long. Since 2012 when the Lapsset project began, the government and the Lapsset Corridor Development Authority itself have never bothered to produce the RAP. We have a right to know what next to expect. They have been sitting on that report for far too long.
"There’s need for us to know if there is any compensation for the manner in which our livelihoods have been affected by the Lapsset. Failure to that, we are ready for a legal battle,” said Mr Mbwana.
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