Mineral bill and policy set to benefit miners in Western Kenya once enacted, official

Kenya’s mining bill that is expected to set standards for the industry in the country is in the final stages of enactment, a Ministry of Mineral official has revealed.

“The team drafting the bill is currently engaged in developing regulations that are set to be over in due course,” the Director of Mineral Promotion Value Addition Jennifer Halwenge says in Kakamega.

Halwenge reveals that a policy on mine health safety and environment is being developed to cater for the safe management of the mineral sites.

She notes that Kenya is a country with a great potential in minerals that includes Gold, Gypsum, Fluorite, Soda ash, Titanium, diatomite, limestone, iron ore, dimension stones, building stones and sand, silica sand, manganese, clays, brick soils, copper, nickel and others.

The mineral sector is one of the most lucrative and financial mines of many economies in the world. It brings into the economy considerable amount of money into government financial system.

Kenya created a ministry of mining three years ago to give focus on the activities, processes and policies of mining and mineral extraction.

It is believed that minerals can make a greater contribution to the national and socio economic goal. This was stirred by the discovery of oil deposits in Turkana a few years ago.

Consequently, there has already emerged powerful interests focusing on the control and share of revenues from the proposed mining, refining and selling of the petroleum products.

Oil deposits are huge and the discovery has subsequently generated considerable expectations among Kenyans who hope that the new wealth will translate into instant improvement of their living standards through increased revenues and increase foreign exchange earnings from the oil resource as the country turns into an oil producer.

The Director, Kakamega County Chamber Sustainable Organization for Public Private Sector Entrepreneurial Development (KCCSOPPSED) Prince Chitechi says that two companies have already visited the mineral sites in the region with the aim of exploration.

“Avia Austria an international organization and Lantana Agencies a local company, have visited several spots within Kakamega and Vihiga Counties and neighboring counties and their findings are due to be made public,” Chitechi says.

He adds that the pending bills and policy once approved will hasten the exploration of the minerals.

“The chamber has already asked development partners to come on board since exploration of minerals requires specialized machinery,” he notes.

The chamber is currently engaged in awareness creation on all minerals and not gold alone so that people could get to realize the importance of the region in employment creation.

The region realized its potential in mineral potential in the 1980s when Kenya Finland water program (KEFINCO) was digging ground water.

The project covered the entire western region which included Trans Nzioa, part of North Rift, Western and Nyanza. It is this project that discovered gold in Rosterman and Ikolomani.

KNCCI has set up capacity building sessions that is aimed at dissuading locals from using traditional and archaic mining methods and also embraces cooperative movement.

KNCCI wants to expose the local miners to the international world to help them acquire useful mechanized tool for excavation of the minerals for various industrial packs.

Chitechi sites selfishness, ethnicity and lack of financial support due to rampant poverty in the region as the main challenge.

Chitechi says the chamber intends to train the youths and expose the community to the current mining technologies where even the mapping and survey will be applied in detecting the layers at which the minerals are found.

According to the ministry, titanium is found in Kwale, gold in Transmara, Migori, Siaya, Kakamega,Vihiga, Nandi and West Pokot, soda ash Magadi in Kajiado, fluorite Kerio Valley and limestone-Kajiado, Kilifi, Kitui and West Pokot. Others are gypsum in Kajiado and Garissa, pozzolana in Kajiado, Machakos and Makueni, diatomite in Nakuru, iron ore in Busia, Meru and TaitaTaveta, dimension stone/granite in Vihiga, Kakamega and Machakos and building stone in various locations.

KNCCI is discouraging middle men in mineral trading through civic education that encourages commercialization of the products.

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