Stakeholders in the mining industry want the government to lift a ban imposed on issuance of licences to attract new investors and spur growth of the sector.
Through the Kenya Chamber of Mines (KCM), the industry is calling on the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining to withdraw a moratorium against the granting or renewal of any mineral right imposed in December last year saying the move is hurting the sector.
Stakeholders in the mining industry want the government to lift a ban imposed on issuance of licences to attract new investors and spur growth of the sector.
Through the Kenya Chamber of Mines (KCM), the industry is calling on the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining to withdraw a moratorium against the granting or renewal of any mineral right imposed in December last year saying the move is hurting the sector.
“We want the moratorium to be lifted without any further delays because it is negatively impacting the sector including making it impossible for investors to come to the country,” said Moses Njeru, KCM chief executive officer.
He added the confidence of foreign investors with Kenya as a mining prospective destination is extremely low because of challenges with licensing and laws that are not conducive for large scale investments.
Mr Njeru said the protracted standoff on licensing has become a source of frustration for investors seeking to venture into Kenya with Petroleum and Mining cabinet secretary John Munyes banning licensing despite the Mining Rights Board processing several licence applications and giving them the green light to venture into the country.
Over the last two years, about 150 companies have presented applications for exploration licences while another 100 have applied for the dealer’s licence through the mining cadastre portal, according to the agency.
Kenya has however not renewed or issued any new mining licences since 2015 when then Mining cabinet secretary Najib Balala revoked the licences of 65 companies forcing firms operating in the country to operate under a gazette notice.
The mining sector currently contributes less than one per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) although the country is endowed with minerals capable of contributing up to 10 percent of GDP.
According to the Economic Survey, total earnings from mineral production last year declined 5.5 per cent to Sh29.1 billion from Sh30.8 billion in 2018.
Kenya is endowed with minerals like gold, zinc, copper, coal, dimension stone, gemstones, soda ash, fluorspar, diatomite, ruby, carbon dioxide, oil, titanium, mercury and gypsum.
However, official data shows the country has only managed to exploit titanium, salt, soda ash, gemstones, gold and diatomite.
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