By County Diary Reporter
The ministry of energy and petroleum which is in charge of mining in Kenya is reviewing its policy and acts to make it more friendly to all stakeholders in the mineral endowed counties in Kenya, this was said by the State Department top officials who attended Public participation forum in Mwingi,
The workshop was graced by kitui Executive member in charge of Environment and Natural Resources Hon John Makau, chief officer Eng Kimanga among other county officials.
The development of the policy further is expected to look into account global trends and international best practices related to the mining industry in areas such as technology, investment financing mechanisms, and developing mineral markets with due regard also being accorded to regional and local issues affecting the mining and mineral resource sector.
Access to land for exploration and mining, The Outdated Legal framework and regulations
Access to land for exploration and mining
- Inadequate Geological data and information
- Mineral Marketing and value addition
- Inadequate funding
- Environmental degradation
- Gender issues and child labor
- Artisanal and small scale Mining
- Local participation
- Fiscal Regime
The policy will continuously be monitored and progress reports evaluating its implementation will be produced on a regular basis according to director mr Kimani, who was representing The minister during the workshop.
Policy goal, guiding principles, Objectives, and strategies
The guiding principles of the mining and mineral policy are as follows
Ensuring intergenerational equity and sustainable utilization of minerals resources so that the country mineral wealth can benefit current and future generations
Integrating sound environment protection, safety and health concerns in mineral resources development, to make sure that there is equitable access to mineral resources and benefit sharing at the national, county and community levels.
Ensuring transparency, accountability and public participation in line with requirements of the Constitution.
To promote International and regional cooperation in the management of mineral resources.
To respect the social-cultural value and ensure access to justice, gender equity, and inclusiveness.
To Promote value addition and development of horizontal and vertical linkages to locals economy ( horizontal linkage are linkage between the companies on the same level of the chain while vertical linkages are a relationship between companies along the value chain
Kitui minister in charge of natural resources Makau urged the state to be more open to counties endowed with minerals resources and called for close consultation between the National government and county government in every step to foster the good working relationship.
