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Kenya is seeking to ape Angola and Chad models by developing a framework that will assist the country come up with mechanisms that will assist small and medium-sized enterprises(SME’s) transform the short-term benefits of oil and gas sectors into long term development, industry players said on Thursday. The mechanism will aid through institutional building and strategic policy tools to promote direct employment, skills development and the participation of local companies in the supply of goods and services in the oil and gas sector.
The framework seeks to provide a guiding framework outlining the types of targeted policy interventions that the five identified County Governments namely, Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Marsabit, Turkana and West Pokot can adopt to facilitate the development of MSMEs supporting the oil and gas sector.
The country has grown the exploration side of its oil and gas industry, with new finds signifying a bright future for the industry, with the five counties showing huge potential. Already, British oil exploration company Tullow is drilling millions of barrels of oil in Turkana.
According to stakeholders, the framework picks lessons from across the world including academic theories, expert input and case studies from Angola and Chad that will act as practical examples for SMEs’ development in the oil and gas sector into a Kenya-specific working policy framework for County governments.
“We are excited as government that as we develop the national local content framework the private sector has also developed a working policy framework that will help us improve our document. We expect that by the time our framework is concluded by the end of the year we will guide the way to ensure local players have more capacity, have access to information on opportunities in the sector and can get finance so as to participate in sectors with huge capital needed such as oil and gas,” said the permanent secretary at the Ministry of trade and cooperatives Betty Maina.
“This framework will equip counties with the needed guidelines towards putting in place adequate policy, regulatory and governance structures to foster county-level MSME development within the emerging economic sectors, especially oil and gas.
Following the launch of this framework, it is my hope that the national and county governments will provide the enabling environment needed for its implementation,” said KNCCI chairman Kiprono Kittony.
The framework further identifies potential policy interventions needed at the county level, but also highlights the opportunities and challenges policymakers may face in their execution.
The four priority areas identified include: establishment of enterprise centers, access to electricity, access to water and access to telecommunications and computer services. Among the four, the framework terms the establishment of enterprise centers as the number one priority key issue going from the experience of both Angola and Chad.
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