BackThe Commission has commended the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) for information disclosures and public engagement on the proposed nuclear power plant at Uyombo in Kifili County.
The Commission on its own motion requested information from the agency following an article that appeared in the Daily Nation Newspaper on Thursday, 8th February 2024 in where some residents of the Uyombo Community raised concerns regarding the ecological, safety, and security impact of the proposed nuclear plant to the community.
The Commission brought to the attention of the agency the provisions of section 5 of the Access to Information Act, 2016 which requires a public agency to publish all the relevant facts while formulating important policies or announcing the decisions that affect the public before initiating any project or formulating any policy, scheme, programme or law, publish or communicate to the public in general or to the persons likely to be affected thereby in particular.
The Commission therefore requested the agency to respond within seven days to the concerns raised by the community and to provide information on the measures the agency had put in place to ensure that the agency has proactively provided information to the Uyombo community together with any public participation initiatives they intended to undertake to ensure compliance with section 5 of the Access to Information Act, 2016.
In their response to the Commission, the CEO of NuPEA provided the Commission with comprehensive report on the initiatives that the agency has taken to provide information to the community in the last three years including community forums, establishment of nuclear information centers, public barazas, engagement with the media and other stakeholders, awareness creation through broadcast, print and social media and dissemination of Information, Education and Communication materials including those translated in local language among other strategies.
The agency also indicated that they had involved a broad range of stakeholders including the leadership of the County Government of Kilifi, the Member of Parliament for Kilifi North, National Government Administrative Officers in Kilifi, a thirteen-member committee selected by the residents through public forums among other stakeholders.
The Commission noted that the agency provided a comprehensive report on stakeholders’ engagement in the last three years and commended the agency for information disclosures and public engagements about the project.
“The Commission acknowledges receipt of your letter dated 9th April 2024 whose contents are duly noted together with the comprehensive report on the engagement with all the relevant stakeholders. The Commission commends you for the work done on the project relating to information disclosures and public engagements.” Read a letter from the Commission to the agency on 17th April 2024.
Source: Commission on Administrative Justice, Kenya
