Parliamentary Committee on Environment, Forestry and Mining held a public participation forum in Kericho town where residents had the opportunity to submit their views on two mining bills presented before the committee for amendment.
According to the Chair of the 15-member committee David Gikaria, who is also the Nakuru East Member of Parliament, the two bills presented for amendment include the Mining Amendment Bill 2023 and the Gold Processing Bill 2023.
The legislator who was accompanied by other members of the committee including the Kericho Woman Representative Beatrice Kemei and Nominated MP Joseph Wainaina explained that the Gold Processing Bill 2023 provides for the establishment, composition functions, and management of the Gold Processing Corporation.
Mr Gikaria explained that the bill also provided for the application, cancellation, and renewal of a gold processing license and connected purposes.
He further explained that the Gold Processing Bill 2023 seeks to establish a legal and institutional framework for collecting, smelting, fabricating, homogenising, sampling, registering, monitoring, and transporting gold or products of gold.
Gikaria also took time to expound the contents of the proposed amendment of the Mining Amendment Bill 2023, which seeks to amend the Mining Act No. 12 of 2016 and to provide for the separate implementation of the three key functions in the Act: policy formulation, administrative, and dispute resolution functions.
“Through these Bills, the policymakers aim to promote sustainable development, resource management, and environmental preservation for the benefit of present and future generations. We want to enhance professionalism in exploration and mining that is safe in an environmentally conducive manner,” he said
Participants who included the Association of Miners, civil society, human rights organisations, mining graduates, the National Government Administration Officers (NGAO), farmers, and business people among others raised concerns about the employment of the youth at the mining sites and the sharing of revenue from minerals calling for more allocation to the community.
“The government will receive 70 percent, the county government 20 percent, and the community 10 percent of the royalties from the minerals. The government has the largest share to facilitate development agenda in all parts of the country especially regions that have no minerals,” explained Gikaria
He also disclosed that the government was keen to ensure the promotion of value addition through the establishment of processing plants for the minerals before they are exported.
The legislator therefore said the government will establish state-of-the-art mineral testing laboratories spread across specific counties in the country to bolster the efficiency and quality of mineral mining and value addition in Kenya.
“We are also urging the artisanal miners to get registered in Societies for them to benefit. We have already registered 70 Artisanal miners’ societies in the country,” said Gikaria
A national geophysical survey successfully identified 970 mineral occurrences with confirmatory of quality of resources discovered in 24 counties including Kericho, where deposits of strategic minerals among them gold, which has been discovered at Cheplanget area in Bureti Sub-County.