•Mbarire said the move was necessitated by a rise in vandalism, where people were stealing metals for sale.
•The business, she said, was booming due to the ready availability of dealers who were buying the stolen scrap metals.
Image: FILE
Embu County Governor Cecily Mbarire has banned scrap metal business in the county with immediate effect.
Governor Mbarire on Tuesday said no scrap metal dealer will be allowed to operate in the county until fresh vetting is done and completed.
Mbarire said the move was necessitated by a rise in vandalism, where people were stealing metals for sale.
The business, she said, was booming due to the ready availability of dealers who were buying the stolen scrap metals.
"I want to announce here and now that all scrap metal businesses have been banned forthwith in Embu county until we do fresh vetting of all businesses," Mbarire said.
She said the vetting exercise which will be done with the support of the county security team adding that only businesses with legal sources of scrap metal will be opened.
"Once we vet you, ascertain where you get your scrap metal, then we can give you fresh licenses. For now, no more business in scrap metal until you are fully vetted," Mbarire said.
"This is because there is a lot of vandalism of government and private properties and that is because there are dealers in Embu county who are buying them."
Mbarire expressed concern that all the dustbins which had been placed in town had been stolen, adding that there had been an attempt to steal scrap metals from the recently renovated Embu stadium.
"Recently people were arrested trying to vandalise the stadium. If you go to government and school fences made using metals, they are cut at night and taken for sale."
In January, a report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu showed that the Scrap Metal Council has not been executing its mandate due to lack of inspectors.
The report for the year ended June 2022 said scrap metal dealers were consequently not vetted during the year under review.
Gathungu said the council management explained that the inspector’s appointing process was delayed by a Presidential Moratorium announced in January 2022.
The moratorium suspended all activities related to scrap metal dealing until guidelines were formulated to regulate the sector.
“Lack of inspectors negatively affects the efficient and effective performance of the council. In the circumstances, the council was in breach of the law,” Gathungu stated.
In January 2022, the government led by then-president Uhuru Kenyatta foisted a ban on exports, selling, buying, and dealings in scrap metal following high cases of vandalism of critical infrastructure, resulting in taxpayers suffering millions of shillings in losses.
The ban that was lifted months later had also been imposed to curb electricity equipment vandalism.