- The outgoing governor Okoth Obado through a cabinet meeting approved the leases, before the county assembly approved them further in a report.
- Al-Fateem Mining Company for copper and gold leaching said they will invest and initial capital of Sh1.3 billion in the 10 years lease.
Image: MANUEL ODENY
The Migori county government will lease out 1,100 acres to two firms to do mining and sisal farming in semi-arid Nyatike constituency.
The outgoing governor Okoth Obado through a cabinet meeting approved 1,000 acres for Al Naqel Holding for sisal planting and 100 acres for Al-Fateem Mining Company for copper and gold leaching.
The land will be hived from a parcel Muhuru/Kadem 498 in Macalder-Kanyarwanda ward, which was inherited by the county government from the defunct South Nyanza council.
The Migori county assembly’s Lands and Physical Planning Committee chaired by Wasweta 2 MCA Patrick Aran report uploaded on their website showed the approvals were done by Obado and his cabinet.
Al-Fateem Mining Company working under a mining license number PR 948-0062363 wrote to the governor after it “expressed interest to undertake tailing activities in the county."
On May 25, 2022, Obado held a cabinet meeting which approved the lease and a day later on May 26, Rusana signed official letter which was directed to the assembly to start the process of leasing.
The letter was directed to the assembly on May 31, 2022 and from June 10-12 2022, the assembly committee retreated to Kisumu where they approved the cabinet decision to give 100 acres of land to company to recycle gold and copper waste for ten years.
In the report, the company said they wanted to invest Sh1.3 billion as initial capital to be able to process at least three tones of ores for copper and gold ore a day and “partner with county government through a social cooperate responsibility.”
The request was set out by the company’s general director Musa Mohammed Issa Mohammed, as the company is based in Westlands, Nairobi.
"The investment by the company is guaranteed to have an impact on the environment and economy of the county by getting rid of hazardous waste which has been for a long-time source of pollution to the environment, rivers and Lake Victoria," Mohammed said in a letter.
In the second company, On April 8, 2021, Obado and his cabinet approved the allocation of the land to Al Naqel Holding after the company had earlier requested 1,500-2,000 acres of land for a lease of 25 years to establish nuclear plantation for sisal farming.
"The company has revolutionised the socio-economic activities of Nyatike subcounty by creating opportunities that increase wealth and tackle poverty and under employment in the county," Aran said in the report.
In a lease request, the company said they were registered on June 29, 2016 under PVT/2016/016514 under three directors and has been working in Migori and Homa Bay claiming to have a capacity to produce 600-1,200 metric tonnes of sisal fibber per year.
It added that 400 families in the region directly benefit from them.
While approving the leases, Aran said the committee has recommended all transactions to be done through National Lands Commission since county government is yet to enact county public land leasing policy and laws to legally govern such transactions.
-Edited by SKanyara