Lodwar, March 19, 2026 (Public Communication and Media Relations)
Turkana is inching closer towards full operationalization of its Local Content Act, 2024, after stakeholders endorsed draft regulations intended to functionalize the law.
At a workshop convened by the Office of the County Attorney with support from Gulf Energy, stakeholders drawn from the private sector, state agencies, development partners and organized community groups reviewed, discussed and validated the draft Local Content Regulations, 2026.
The validation essentially clears the way for submission of the draft regulations to the relevant authority for approval.
Once approved, the regulations will provide the framework needed to give full effect to the Act, including clarifying local participation, sharing of opportunities and mechanisms for monitoring compliance and outcomes.
County Attorney Ruth Emanikor said the validation was a legal requirement and an important step in translating the Act from policy into practice.
“While we are all aware of what the Local Content Act, 2024 provides, it is the regulations that clearly define local participation, distribution of opportunities and the means of monitoring outcomes. Your duty as stakeholders is to ensure that all aspects are properly captured in a manner that provides practical solutions,” she said.
She said the drafting process was informed by similar legislative instruments operating in comparable jurisdictions, while also incorporating local perspectives to reflect Turkana’s realities.
“By validating this legislative framework, Turkana has laid a firm foundation for determining employment, revenue, procurement and value-addition opportunities available to the local population across different forms of engagement,” she said.
A representative of Gulf Energy Eris Lothike, said the validation comes at a timely moment as Turkana prepares for the full resumption of oil exploration activities, adding that the company is ready to support implementation of the local content framework.
“Gulf Energy commits to support the local content legislation. We equally commit to prioritize local participation as provided for by the legislation once it is finalized,” he said.
During the deliberations, participants called for stronger local communication channels, the use of local languages in advertising opportunities, and the formation of cooperatives and aggregation frameworks to enable communities to take advantage of opportunities expected from the operationalization of the law.
Chief Officer for Partnerships Janerose Tioko, alongside directors and staff from both the County Executive and County Assembly, attended the validation workshop.
