RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Turkana Community Lists its DemandsA lot of good points being raised here. Its true that in almost all cases the contractor must come to terms with the local communities to occupy and work the surface, always under the umbrella of the PSC. Its reasonable and expected to contribute some employment and improvements to the local community. Employing 800 locals already, at just a few rig sites, seems to go well above and beyond the call of duty at this stage.
Unless the constitution provides that the regions have ownership and control of their own resources, those are administered by the federal government and PSC is signed with them. The POD approved pursuant to the PSC should dictate how oil is transported, if and where it is refined, etc. When community demands are unreasonable (or perhaps uninformed, such as with respect to the economics of building a refinery) and disrupt to the point of a work stoppage, then the feds need to step in, ensure that work can commence immediately and continue safely, and moderate negotiations to balance the expectations of the locals vs. benefits to the entire country. As I've said here before, an exploration contract is an obligation to spend money until the day production starts (and actually long after as well). If they reach that point, more significant contributions to the community should be negotiated with the POD.