Since the Kenya Kwanzaa administration assumed power after the August 2022 general elections, the government has been on an unwavering journey of economic transformation, driven by a vision that puts the prosperity of its people at the forefront. Central to this transformation agenda is the mining sector, with a particular focus on empowering artisanal miners.
The establishment of the Ministry of State for Mining, as part of the reorganization of the government in 2023, represents a strategic step towards harnessing the potential of this vital sector.
First, Kenya's mining sector is predominantly characterized by artisanal and small-scale mining, complemented by a few large-scale operations.
The Kenyan government of Kwanzaa recognizes the importance of artisans and artisans in driving economic growth and improving livelihoods. That is why these grassroots players in the mining industry have been strategically placed at the center of a series of initiatives aimed at transforming the incomes and lives of stakeholders in the mining value chain.
At the heart of these initiatives is Kenya's bottom-up economic transformation agenda, which seeks to uplift those at the bottom of the economic pyramid while ensuring environmental sustainability. This agenda is consistent with the constitutional provision that mineral lands are public lands owned by the people of Kenya and managed by the national government.
To facilitate the formalization and regulation of artisanal mining activities, the Mining Act 2016 introduced the artisanal mining permit, enabling Kenyan citizens to engage in artisanal mining under regulated conditions.
In addition, the Ministry has made efforts to identify artisanal mining areas and establish artisanal mining committees (AMCs) to oversee the licensing and formalization process.
The government's commitment to supporting artisanal miners extends beyond formalization to capacity building, gender inclusion, and sustainable mining practices.
One of the strategies we are deploying to this end is to conduct training programs for cooperative officials, along with well-coordinated awareness campaigns to ensure that artisanal miners are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary for sustainable operations.
The government has also directed investments towards technological infrastructure, such as an online mining cadastre system. This digital platform is optimized to enhance transparency and accountability in mineral rights management.
It not only simplifies the application process, facilitates compliance monitoring, and provides stakeholders with real-time access to mining data, but also enables the government to identify areas in need of interventions and at what scale along the implementation process.
The Ministry also implemented strategic interventions aimed at adding value. This would address the perennial problem of grassroots miners risking their lives to extract small fractions of minerals, which are then seized by scalpers and ultimately processed in foreign lands, earning everyone but the artisanal miners huge profits.
By leveraging the benefits of aggregation, we will be able to enhance mineral enrichment and infrastructure development. In collaboration with strategic investors, we will soon reach a point where sufficient technological infrastructure is in place to ensure artisanal mining is conducted safely and in line with global environmental sustainability protocols, to which Kenya is a party and signatory.
Moreover, working with strategic investors gradually but surely leads to the renewal of metal testing laboratories. The result is that we will not only strengthen the value chain, but we will also attract more foreign investment and create more employment opportunities for our people.
Moreover, the government's announcement of strategic minerals and the establishment of the National Mining Corporation demonstrate a proactive approach to resource management and industrial development. These measures not only ensure sustainable exploitation of mineral resources, but also position Kenya as a regional hub for mineral processing and value addition.
Another key item on the mining industry's transformation agenda is to create linkages with researchers, our universities and other strategic institutions to ensure there is structured and institutionalized training for staff with the right skills and knowledge to further deepen the gains we are making as a ministry.
By empowering entrepreneurs at the grassroots level, the government is not only enhancing people's incomes through job creation and finding ways to generate revenues where they are little or none, but the expanded value chain created will have the overall impact of ensuring improved livelihoods for everyone. Kenyans.
These reforms have necessitated amending sections of the 2016 Mining Act and formulating other policies that we are pleased to continue to deepen. We owe it to the people and have explicitly promised to fulfill it. In cooperation with all players in the sector, we will do everything in our power to ensure that the transformation agenda is supervised to its logical success.