The national government has unveiled a committee to oversee post-mining land use in Kwale county.
The Post Mining Land Use Committee (PMLU) will comprise 19 members and will be chaired by Mining PS Elijah Mwangi.
The team is set to oversee the implementation of the mined land as Australian mining company Base Titanium prepares to shut down operations.
The mining company is scheduled to close down business by December 31, following the depletion of mineral resources.
Base Titanium has been mining mineral sands mainly zircon, rutile and ilmenite in Kwale.
Mining CS Salim Mvurya said on Monday the committee forms an integral step in ensuring the public is involved in decision-making on the PMLU. He spoke at the Kenya School of Government in Matuga.
"We received many proposals from the community on what to do with mined-out land, so we formed a committee to streamline the process and ensure the suggestions remain within the legal framework," he said.
Mvurya said the committee will collect views from the public and various stakeholders and then write a report, which will be converted into a Cabinet Memo and presented to the Cabinet before a final decision is made.
The CS assured the county government, affected communities and all interested parties that their concerns would be heard and addressed fairly.
"We commit that the county and elected leadership will be well represented," Mvurya said.
He, however, acknowledged the entire exercise would be difficult and urged the team to follow due process for the programme to be successful.
"I know it will not be easy; many opinions will be submitted and others will want to serve their own interests, but let us be fair and work together to ensure an effective process," the CS said.
Mvurya said the government is committed to ensuring effective public participation in the PMLU process for a successful outcome.
Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani said the exercise should be transparent and the affected communities given enough time to submit their views.
She said residents should be given the right to decide what the mined land will be used for.
Achani said it would be unfair and unfortunate if other parties decided on behalf of the mining-affected communities.
"The communities gave the land in good faith and they should be entirely involved for them to make informed decisions on PMLU," she said.
Achani urged the committee to be transparent and submit the residents' suggestions without alteration.
The governor also urged the national government to release the royalties owed to counties.
Achani lamented that it has been long since the government promised to disburse the funds to counties and communities.
Base Titanium external affairs manager Simon Wall praised the government for forming the committee.
He said the PMLU's exercise is crucial for the mining company since it will leave a legacy.
Wall said apart from the many benefits the mineral sands contributed to the community, their hard work will be remembered by how they do land restoration and rehabilitation.
He said there have been studies on areas around conservation, agriculture and research and that all projects have proved beneficial.
Wall, however, said the company is not mandated to make decisions on behalf of the community or the government about what to do with the land, but rather to provide insights on the PMLU.
Msambweni MP Feisal Bader also commended the national government for coming up with the PMLU committee.
Restoration and rehabilitation process of the mined area has been going on.
Some of the rehabilitation works include backfilling of mining pits, tree and grass planting and agricultural trials for post-mining land use.
The trials for post-mining land use are intended to provide valuable insights into the potential of mined soil for the government to consider after mineral deposits have been exhausted.
To ensure high-quality results, the company tested various land preparation techniques, bank stabilisation methods, green manure for soil improvement and a variety of pioneer plant species.
By last year, the company had rehabilitated about 71 per cent of the mined-out areas.
