Olkaria I & IV Geothermal Extension

Complaint

In July 2014, the EIB Complaints Mechanism (EIB-CM) received a complaint concerning the involuntary resettlement related to the expansion of activities in the Olkaria geothermal field. Between August and September 2014, the EIB-CM received 3 additional complaints on the same matter. The allegations concerned the preparation and implementation of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP). More particularly, it was alleged that Project Affected People (PAPs) had been requested to leave their places without being provided with the land titles and without the infrastructure being finalised. They also alleged that a number of PAPs had been left out of the census carried out by the promoter. In addition, they alleged that their socio-economic livelihood activities had not been restored to a level equal to or above the previous one as required by the international lenders’ policies for involuntary resettlement.

The project is financed by the Bank under the Mutual Reliance Initiative (MRI), whereby the French Development Agency (AFD) plays the role of Lead Financier amongst the EU International Financial Institutions, which also include the EIB and the German Development Agency (KfW). Other financiers of the project are the World Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). All the EU lenders have adopted the World Bank’s policies for land acquisition and involuntary resettlement as the framework for implementing the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP). The World Bank Inspection Panel (WB-IP) received a complaint with similar allegations in October 2014. Therefore, and in order to maximise synergies, the EIB-CM and the WB-IP have worked together to assess the allegations, seeking complementarity whenever possible. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the two parties to formalise this cooperation.

EIB-CM Action

A joint compliance review with the WB-IP was carried out between March and July 2015. In August 2015, a formal mediation process was launched after obtaining the agreement of the parties and under the leadership of the EIB-CM. The EIB-CM put in place a mediation team, composed of a mediation officer of the EIB-CM and two local mediators.  A representative of the World Bank Grievance Redress Service (GRS) and of the EIB-CM also participated in the meetings.

The mediation process lasted from August 2015 until the signature of the Mediation Settlement Agreement on 28 May 2016 and became effective on 29 September 2016.

The Mediation Settlement Agreement identified a broad set of agreed measures and actions to be undertaken by the parties. The four main areas of actions focused on:

-          Identification of PAPs that may have been omitted in the compensation and vulnerable people;

-          Consultations, participation and grievance redress;

-          Adequacy of resettlement site, infrastructure and amenities;

-          Livelihood restoration.

The Mediation Report dated 12 March 2018 describes in more detail the mediation process and first implementation measures carried out until the date of the report. The following six action points remained to be completed following the Mediation Report:

-          Completion of land title transfer,

-          Measures to enhance the resettlement site productivity and road conditions,

-          Construction of five additional houses for PAPs,

-          Measures to support vulnerable PAPs,

-          Completion of a water supply system and construction of a concrete water tank,

-          Fencing off of the Cultural Centre’s premises and funding of a business development plan for the Cultural Centre.

The EIB-CM and GRS accompanied the implementation with three monitoring missions (in 2017, 2018 and 2020). In addition, the local mediators met on average every two months with the parties to check the progress of implementation.

The EIB-CM considers that all action points have been implemented, as described in more detail in the final monitoring report issued in November 2021.