Embrace dialogue in resolving wrangles, CS Joho urges communities
The Government has expressed preference for community dialogue as the most sustainable approach for resolving wrangles instead of long-drawn court litigation processes that often derail multi-billion mining investments to the detriment of the host communities.
Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary Hassan Ali Joho said that unity and intra-community dialogue were key ingredients to avoiding protracted court cases on mineral rights which denied communities multiple benefits accruing from mining investments.
Instead, CS Joho said, consultations and grassroots dialogue were more efficient and less expensive methods of addressing issues without putting communities’ economic aspiration in jeopardy.
“We must talk with each other and embrace dialogue to address any concern over mining investments in our region. Court litigation can deny communities much the needed development and risks scaring off investors,” the CS noted.
He was speaking at Kishushe in Taita-Taveta County during a tour of the region to meet the mining communities and familiarize himself with mining investments in the county.
CS Joho was accompanied by Mining PS Elijah Mwangi and local leaders led by Governor Andrew Mwadime and Deputy Governor Christine Kilalo. Others present were Senator Johnes Mwaruma, Women Rep Lydia Haika, MPs Danson Mwashako (Wundanyi), Abdi Chome (Voi), Peter Shake (Mwatate) and John Bwire (Taveta).
The Kishushe visit is CS Joho's first tour to mining counties in the Coast region and signifies a clear shift in policy towards resolution of mining disputes through embracing community-driven Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism.
The Cabinet Secretary also called for openness, inclusivity and transparency from leaders in financial dealings with investors to avoid unnecessary suspicions that sow seeds of animosity amongst community members.
"As leaders, we must make every transaction and agreement public to the community. This will create confidence in processes and generate support for any investment," he advised.
To further streamline the sector, CS Joho directed mining officials in-charge of pegging of prospecting and mining zones should ensure the menace of double pegging is permanently addressed. He said allocation of the same zone to different miners was a key source of dispute in the sector.
"We should never get any case of double pegging for mining areas to avoid conflicts," the Cabinet Secretary said.
While emphasizing the importance of ensuring host communities fully benefit from mining investments in their locality, CS Joho said he would seek to amend the law to have the money meant to go to county the government and communities as royalties be deduced at source.
The Mining Act 2016 dictates that the sharing of mining royalties be done on basis of 70, 20 and 10 percent for national government, county government and the host communities respectively.
However, all the monies are collected by the national government for redistribution; a process which often is marked by delays. The CS said a more efficient way would be to pay county and communities directly from the inventor's mining proceeds and remit the remaining to the national government*
"We cannot have the investor take years to pay the community what is owed to them. They law should have them get paid promptly without delays," he stated.
The Cabinet Secretary also issued a Ksh 10 million cheque to Kishushe Community as part of Corporate Social Responsibility from Samruddha Resources Kenya Limited; an iron ore investor in the region.
CS Joho later toured the Voi Gemstone, Value Addition and Marketing Center where he said the facility needed modern equipment for upgrading to meet international gemstone processing standards.