The discovery of oil in Turkana region in Kenya was a breakthrough that many locals expected would elevate their lives for the better. However, many Kenyans are not happy with how the issues is being handled.

There are so many challenges that deter the country from fully reaping the benefits of the discovery. In as much as it was, and is still expected to boost the country’s economy, not much has been realized so far.

The oil discovery is expected to boost economic growth as about 560 million barrels of oil are projected to be recovered from the South Lokichar Basin. Commercial oil production is anticipated in about three to four years.

Earlier this year, as road transfers of oil to Mombasa started under the ‘early oil pilot scheme’, the operations faced opposition from local communities in Turkana. As a historically underdeveloped part of Kenya, the find was expected to bring great benefits to the Turkana people. But they have largely been excluded and are demanding jobs, business opportunities, security and a share of oil proceeds.

Some Kenyans and businesses have gained employment or business contracts, but it’s not enough. British oil exploration company, Tullow Oil, the first to discover oil in Kenya, has a history of discovering significant oil resources in East Africa. By the end of 2017, 30 percent of the company’s supplier spend was with Kenyan businesses, down from 33 percent in 2016.

The bulk goes to foreign companies. Though Tullow Oil does work with some Kenyan firms – like Kapese Transporters and Lopii Contractors – the company has slowed down on contracting local suppliers.

It is crucial that Kenya figures out how to encourage the participation of Kenyans in the oil sector using local labor, goods and services. This was the topic at a recent forum hosted by the Extractives Baraza – an information center for the extractives sector based at Strathmore University – in Nairobi.

Major constraints that prevent Kenyans – particularly communities around the oilfields – from benefiting from the oil sector include: a lack of specialized training or technical skills, a lack of access to credit which would increase the competitiveness of small-to-medium businesses, low quality of local goods and services and a lack of modern roads and highways to link the Turkana region with other parts of the country.

But what exactly are the challenges?

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Africa Faces Challenges but is On the Path to Greater Resilience

Even though countries in Africa have been hit by external headwinds, the continent is well on the path to becoming more resilient with infrastructure projects and sound government policies in place, said the president and CEO of a development finance institution on Thursday.

“South Africa, Nigeria, Angola have dragged the continent behind,” Samaila Zubairu, president and CEO of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), told CNBC at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Bali, Indonesia.

Those three economies — the largest in Africa — have performed below expectations, according to the IMF which said the continent as a whole would stand to benefit if the three countries were performing up to their potential.

The larger economies in Africa are “heavily dependent on commodity prices” and face more serious challenges compared to smaller countries such as Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania that have fared better in terms of growth, Zubairu added.

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