News & Comment
Kenya Exporting Oil: Profit to Colonial Multinationals and Misery to Citizens

News

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday morning, flagged off the first 200,000 barrels of crude oil from Kenya. UK-based Chinese company, ChemChina, bought the first batch of the Kenyan crude oil at Ksh1.2 billion (USD12 million). This is part of the Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS), which is an important step towards the South Lokichar Full Field Development (FFD) project. The EOPS is preparing the road for full exploration and development of oil in the country, which was discovered in Turkana County in 2012 by Tullow Oil Kenya B.V and its partner Africa Oil Corporation. Tullow is the operator and is supported by partners Africa Oil and Total, which has acquired a 25 per cent stake in the project. [The Star, 26/08/2019]

Comment

In his statement Uhuru said, "I'm proud to say Kenya's grand march to oil and gas export has now begun and the flagging off of this consignment represents a new dawn not just for Kenya but also for our region and a beginning of a new era of prosperity for all Kenyans." In addition, said, "We will ensure that Kenya's natural resources are utilized in a manner that yields maximum dividends today but without compromising the interest of future generations." The statement is contrary to the reality that faces Africa since the Western colonialists view it as their colonial farm that they can exploit its resources at any given time! In addition, African nations including Kenya are subservient secular capitalist states and their laws and policies are sanctioned by their Western colonial masters disguised as foreign investors who plunder national resources in the name of joint venture partnerships via their self-centered multinationals!

Kenya's economy currently is in debts turmoil, citizens are suffering in mindboggling poverty, and the rich-poor gap keeps growing at an alarming rate! Yet it is blessed with abundant resources including minerals such oil, gas, titanium, vast arable land and huge population amongst others. Kenya's oil discovery and exportation does not guaranteed its economic liberation; but, is anticipated to join the list of countries in Africa that produce and export oil but languish in poverty such as Nigeria, Angola, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, etc. A good example, Nigeria is blessed as Africa's first largest oil producing and exporting nation amongst other resources.

Unfortunately, according to the World Bank (WB), Nigeria is one of the five countries in the world that contribute to 368 million people, which is a half of the total people living in extreme poverty in the world.

Furthermore, WB declared that Nigeria would overtake India and become a country with the highest number of people living in extreme poverty! (theeastafrican.co.ke, 06/02/2019) Ironically, as per the latest report from Wealth-X, countries that are primed to produce new millionaires at the highest rate in the next five years in Africa number one is Nigeria! (africabriefing.org, 22/01/2019) Kenya's current and future fate is the same as that of Nigeria since both of them remain to be Britain's agent secular capitalist states and their rulers are only concerned to serving their masters dutifully by implementing policies and laws favoring them!

Thus, if indeed Kenya wants to realize genuine utilization of its resources and maximize profits without compromising the interest of future generations. It must cut colonial ties by withdrawing licensing to colonial multinationals that plunder its vast resources and expelling them from their lands. Since through their evil and invalid secular capitalist ideology and its despicable systems such as democracy, social liberalism, interest-based economy amongst others are the root-cause of political, social, economic and educational stagnation throughout Kenya and the world in general. On the other hand, we call upon the Kenyan intellectuals to embrace the call for the resumption of the Islamic way of life via the reestablishment of the Khilafah (Caliphate) on the method of Prophethood. The Khilafah is the only viable solution that guarantees genuine liberation of not only Kenya but also the whole world. Since it will strive to implement the Shari'ah (Qur'an and Sunnah) and do away with all manufactured legislations. Therefore, its citizens shall be viewed from a human perspective irrespective of their religion and color and will enjoy genuine tranquility, development and prosperity by fair distribution of resources undertaken by the Khilafah instead of circulating between the few rich as witnessed today in this interest and benefit driven secular capitalist world!

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Ali Nassoro Ali
Member of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Kenya