In Kenya, Seven LamuCouncillors to Challenge Port Project

A section of Lamucouncillors will move to court to challenge the approval of the multi-billion port project. The seven civic leaders, who are the planning committee members, claim the approval of the port was unprocedural because the proposal did not go trough a full council meeting. They say the government's move to ignore the processes was causing divisions in the council.

A section of Lamucouncillors will move to court to challenge the approval of the multi-billion port project. The seven civic leaders, who are the planning committee members, claim the approval of the port was unprocedural because the proposal did not go trough a full council meeting. They say the government's move to ignore the processes was causing divisions in the council.
 Last week the councillors declined to sign the approval of the port project with only those allied to the Council chairman Abdulkassim Ahmed and the Azahar Ali, the town planning chairlady to give a nod to it. A series of meetings by the councillors to resolve the differences before launching ceremony by President Kibaki, South Sudan President SalvaKiir and Ethiopian Prime Minister MelesZenawi failed.
Councillor Hussein Taib of Faza Ward, one of those opposed to the project told the Star on phone yesterday that they had sent one of their colleagues to seek legal advise from their lawyer in a bid to commence the legal procedings. Taib claims the government has not adequately addressed the concerns of the community, farmers, and fishermen.
 He claims the project is threat to the fishing industry. "The fishing industry is gone because the project is right at the fishing channel, fish migrating areas, breeding grounds and ecosystem," he adds. He says besides pollution of the Manda bay channel where ships will cross to the port, the Dodori and Wange creeks, which are key tourism attraction sites and fishing grounds will be destroyed. The ground breaking ceremony he said was supposed after all the residents' concerns had been addressed. Efforts to get comment from the Transport ministry PS Cyrus Njiru and Lamu County Council chairman Abdulkassim were unsuccessful.