A section of Lamu fishermen has staged an uproar after they discovered their names were missing from the list of those set to benefit from the Sh.1.76 billion compensation payout by the Kenya Ports Authority-KPA.
This came out during the ongoing verification of the names being carried out by the authority at the KPA offices in Lamu Island.
The fishermen have also raised alarm over the presence of non-fishermen names on the list and have appealed to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission-EACC to intervene and ensure the exercise is not corrupted.
A total of 4,734 fishermen are supposed to share the cash.
The package was awarded to the fishermen in May 2018 by the Malindi High Court after the Lapsset project was found to have disrupted both the cultural and economic activities of the fisher community in Lamu.
The monies are expected to hit the bank accounts of all the beneficiaries a few days from now according to the KPA.
However, several fishermen are crying foul after they established that their names were missing from the final vetted list of beneficiaries.
The fishermen who had turned up for the verification exercise at the KPA offices in Lamu island expressed their shock upon discovering that their names had not been included despite having been fully registered for the same.
One such case is that of Omar Bahero,58, who hails from the border village of Kiunga in Lamu East and has been an artisanal fisherman on the Lamu waters for over 30 years.
Bahero who considers himself a veteran of the fishing industry in Lamu disclosed that he had been among the first people to register for the compensation years back and wondered how his name was missing.
“I am beyond shocked that my name cannot be traced on the final list despite having registered successfully for the same. Nobody is telling me why. Whoever is trying to play mind games with this money must stop,” said Bahero.
Famau Athman of Lamu Island is yet another artisanal fisherman whose name is not on the final vetted list of beneficiaries.
“We have seen names of pastoralists from Garissa County on the list. People who are not even fishermen have been approved to be paid yet our names are missing. We are calling on the EACC to intervene as it appears that some shady business is going on,” said Athman.
The aggrieved fishermen are threatening to head to court to stop the entire exercise until it’s done fairly and transparently.
“Our names were on the list how they went missing the KPA needs to tell us. How are they paying pastoralists instead of fishermen? We are not going to allow that exercise to proceed unless they put our names back on the list,” said Shallo Bathithi.
In his response, the KPA Corporate Communications Manager Bernard Osero clarified that the exercise was being undertaken with the highest levels of transparency, openness and fairness.
Osero stated that the only fishermen who are eligible for the compensation monies are those that had been actively practicing between the 2012 and 2016 as that is the period the construction of the Lamu port commenced.
He directed that any complaints thus far be directed to the respective Beach Management Units-BMUs as they are better placed to explain why some names didn’t make it on the final list.
Osero however revealed that some of the missing names were partly because of simple mistakes like the failure to submit ID cards and bank details or a mix-up of the two.
“We have cases where the names are in the master data but their agreements are not ready. We have been going through the list together with their representatives and have been able to sort out all genuine cases,” said Osero.
The KPA official reiterated that it was normal to experience complaints in any exercise that involves huge amounts of money and assured that all genuine fishers will be paid upon completion of the verification exercise.
Currently,70 percent of the 4,734 fishermen have been successfully verified and await the payment of the monies into their accounts.
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