Kapenguria MP Samuel Moroto West has called for the compensation of locals who were affected during the construction of Turkwel power plant by KenGen. The MP said that many locals were displaced from their homes and the company has never compensated locals.
Speaking on at Turkwel, Moroto said the Company has never initiated any project in the region despite making billions of shillings through the power plant, “The company should come out clean on the matter. Locals have not benefited from the project since. We wonder why schools neighboring the plant have not benefited from the power plant,” he said.
He asked area members of parliament to table a motion in parliament over the Company’s failure to compensate locals in the region.
He observed that residents have suffered because of side note problems brought about by the power plant project, including increasing presence of mosquitoes that breed around Turkwel dam, leading to a spike in malaria infections.
He called on the company to help improve infrastructure in the area for development to be realized, “Roads in the area are still impassable despite the power plant being in the area for a long period of time.”
The sentiments were supported by Endough ward Representative Evanson lomadunyi who also called for the full reopening of operations at Turkwel hydro-electric power project for residents in the area to benefit from the services.
The Power Station which has the capacity of 106MW was constructed under the control of KVDA from 1986 to 1991 in agreement with KenGen. Turkwel Power Station is one of the major hydro-electric power stations in Kenya.