Government urges local, foreign investors to seize opportunities in the mining sector

Mombasa,

Saturday, December 16, 2023

KNA by Fatma Said

The government is encouraging both local and foreign investors to consider substantial investments so as to tap into the country’s vast potential in the mining sector.

Recognizing the diverse range of minerals available across the country, Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs CS Salim Mvurya has highlighted the strategic importance of the mining industry, while emphasizing government's commitment to facilitating partnerships for sustainable development.

Mvurya acknowledged that there are more than one million small-scale miners that the government recognizes were crucial, thus playing a very important role in the sector.

Speaking at the Kenya School of Government, Mombasa, the CS emphasized that the small-scale miners should be organized into cooperative societies because many of the challenges they face, such as lack of equipment and educational opportunities are attributed to the absence of institutions that bring them together.

“When you are part of cooperative societies, that is the beginning of your success in connecting with institutions that can provide financial support and for this matter, we shall work closely with the Ministry of Cooperatives to continue supporting you.

We have commenced this education program this week, starting in Embu, where we have brought together five counties from the Eastern region to educate them, next week, the program will extend to the Western and Nyanza regions to inspire them to join and contribute to the development of cooperative societies in the mining sector," said Mvurya.

He added that the main reason to hold the workshops across the country is to educate both the miners and the public that the mining sector is a crucial industry that can significantly contribute to our country's economy and that the motivation behind the efforts is to improve the living standards of miners.

“The government initiated an exercise to assess minerals in all 47 counties, we have completed the exercise and identified the minerals available in each county,” he said.

The assessment reports show that there are various minerals distributed across different regions, for instance in Kwale County there is titanium, zinc, lead and rare earth elements, Kilifi has titanium, manganese and graphite extending to Lamu, where titanium is also present.

The CS also noted that 14 strategic minerals have been identified as suitable for collaboration with international investors including copper, graphite and tantalum.

Mvurya said that there have been many cases of miners losing their lives at work due to lack of safety equipment, hence moving forward with the cooperative societies, he pledged to collaborate with financial institutions that can provide modern mining equipment.

In addition to mining and selling minerals, the CS said that they are also establishing facilities that can enhance value addition in the mining sector.

"For over four years, there have been delays in issuing licenses, but on October 3rd, the Cabinet unanimously agreed that we should lift these restrictions to allow people to continue obtaining licenses, fostering a conducive environment for mining investments," he said.

However, Mvurya warned that the government would shut down the operations of those who engage in illegal mining without proper licenses.

Courtesy; KNA