Kenya“s Regional Development Minister, Musikari Kombo, said 10 March 2004 that a proper regulatory framework is needed for the mining sector in order to prevent social discord.
He said that like man…
Kenya“s Regional Development Minister, Musikari Kombo, said 10 March 2004 that a proper regulatory framework is needed for the mining sector in order to prevent social discord. He said that like many countries in Africa, Kenya is endowed with sizable mineral resources, including soda ash, fluorspar, limestone, vermiculite, ruby, green garnet, gold and diatomite. “But possessing such natural resources has not always guaranteed economic growth and improved the welfare of the population,” Kombo told the National Mineral sector conference. Kombo said in 2002, the mining industry contributed KES 5 billion worth of mineral products, equivalent to 0.6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The industry, he said, also accounted for 0.3% of employment in the modern sector. “Based on this, there is great potential in the industry for improvement towards increased wealth and employment creation,” he said. Kombo said Regional Development Authorities were heavily under-funded, thereby limiting their ability to provide strategic services such as mineral exploration, resource mapping and information dissemination. He said his ministry“s budgetary allocation to the sub-sector stood at 0.24%. “This has undermined the ability of the ministry to effectively carry out joint planning and co-ordination activities with the relevant government departments, particularly the mines and Geology,” said Kombo. He said the Government was aware that the sector faces a number of constraints on growth, including inadequate policy, legal and institutional framework and a slow pace of mineral exploration. He said the industry was mainly private sector led, and driven by the need to maximize profit. This approach, he said, resulted in minimal involvement of communities in mining areas, adding that direct benefits to the communities were marginal and tended to reduce the communities“ appreciation of the sector.