• In the first phase, the committees from Machakos, Kitui, Makueni and Garissa counties were commissioned and members issued with letters of appointment.
• Mining PS Elijah Mwangi said the teams are critical in bringing sanity, order and transparency in the sector.
Image: FILE
The government has started commissioning county artisanal mining committees to enhance inter-governmental collaborations and curb illegal operations.
In the first phase, the committees from Machakos, Kitui, Makueni and Garissa counties were commissioned and members issued with letters of appointment.
According to the Mining Act, the committees play a pivotal role in advising and offering guidance to the representatives of the director of mines on granting, renewing and revoking artisanal miners permits.
This means that mining investors' applications will be considered and reviewed by the committees.
The AMCs will give priority to applications from artisanal miners marketing cooperatives.
Speaking in Kitui on Tuesday during the unveiling of AMCs members from the four counties, Mining PS Elijah Mwangi said the teams are critical in bringing sanity, order and transparency in the sector.
He said the committee will conduct extensive research on the mineral rights applicants as part of due diligence before granting or renewing licences.
This will ensure only the deserving and compliant applicants are granted the mineral rights.
“You are the team that will ensure we don’t give or renew licences for dodgy characters. You have powers to advise on whether the applicants be issued with licences or not. This is the most critical in ensuring only the compliant investors are licensed to start mining operations,” the PS said.
The meeting was attended by national government officials led by the county commissioner Kipchumba Ruto.
The Kitui government was represented by lands and mining chief officer Henry Nyamai.
The inclusion of the AMCs in the mineral rights licensing process has been hailed as the most sustainable approach for ridding the lucrative sector of the menace of illegal mining.
The illegal activities have seen both national and county governments lose millions of shillings in non-payment of royalties.
Because the membership of the committee is drawn from a wide-range of key agencies that operate at the county level, this localised approach will be the first line of defence in vetting and screening investors who express interest in mineral exploration.
Members of the committees are drawn from the county government, Nema, mining department, artisanal miners and security agencies.
The government has identified illegal mining operations as a serious threat not only because of the wanton plunder of the country's natural resources but also because of the security risk posed by unregulated activities.
Other societal vices include child labour, prostitution, brewing and sale of illicit liquor, theft and even murder.
Illegal mining zones have become avenues of conflict, sometimes with tragic outcomes, including deaths or severe injuries.
AMCs are being viewed as the long-overdue solution to the challenges posed by unregulated mining.
Apart from the teams conducting continuous monitoring and surveillance of mining operations, they will also be responsible for ensuring no licence is issued to mine in a zone delineated and marked for another mining applicant.
“We have the mining online cadastre that shows whether an area is taken or not. This committee will not issue licences on an area already taken. By avoiding double-allocation of mining zones, this helps eliminate conflicts,” PS Mwangi said.
As part of a sustained campaign to reform the sector, the government has shut down more than 1,200 illegal mining operations.
A comprehensive audit of mining licences has also been undertaken to enforce compliance with the conditions.
This is after revelations that unscrupulous investors were engaged in active mining while they had only been issued with a prospecting licence.
The PS said such schemes will not be tolerated and urged the AMCs to ensure the licences requested for, matched the operations.
“Prospecting is different from mining. Those who engage in mining should have proper documents,” he said.
Nyamai said involving county governments and members of local mining communities in the licensing process will strengthen compliance.
He said the counties and the national government had stakes in the mining sector owing to the potential of increased revenue from mining.
“The AMCs will be the guardians at the county level. They will ensure that mining operations have complied with the law,” he said.