Kenya: Reforms in Mining Industry Underway, PS Says
Posted on :Friday , 26th August 2016
The government has started reforms aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability in the country's mining industry.
Mining Principal Secretary Ibrahim Mohamed told delegates attending an international conference for auditors in Mombasa that as a regulator, the ministry had developed policies to promote the industry for socio-economic development.
"In compliance with the Constitution, we have embarked on a proactive engagement and involvement of our public and various stakeholders in our reform agenda," Dr Mohamed told the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) meeting at the Pride Inn Resort.
"We have given due attention to the importance of collaboration between the Government, mining companies and communities in overall sustainable development," he added.
The PS who was opening the conference that brings together delegates from 36 countries, spoke of the need for a well anchored and governed extractive industry that effectively deploys resource rents while addressing issues of safety, health and overall environmental and social issues.
Kenya, he said, was among countries well-endowed with minerals yet majority of its people remained engulfed in abject poverty.
"This situation cannot be allowed to continue and it is our collective responsibility to rise to the challenge of harnessing our mineral resources for the benefit of our people in a transparent and accountable manner," the PS said.
Dr Mohamed lauded the Kenya's Mining Act 2016 which he described as most progressive Mining Law in Africa due to some of its striking features like institutionalization of Artisanal mining, introduction of Community Development Agreements, requirements on local content and obligatory requirement on mining activities
"Further to this, we are in the process of developing the Mining and Mineral policy and the National Extractive Policy which will provide avenues of enhancing governance in our broader extractives sector," he added.
The new law sets thresholds and strict timelines for reporting by mineral rights holders and dealers on a quarterly basis with definitive penalties arising from non-compliance.
Dr Mohamed said the operationalization of the online transactional cadaster by the ministry ensures transparency and efficiency in the issuance of mineral rights as all licenses are applied online.
"All these measures will ensure stability, transparency and predictability across the sector for investors and equitable benefits of mineral resources for the citizenry," Dr Mohamed told the auditors from 36 countries among them Kenya's Auditor-General Edward Ouko.
In their three day conference that kicked off Wednesday, the 70 delegates are discussing the role of supreme audit institutions in ensuring sustainable growth from the extractive industries.
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