Ruto Orders Multinational Company Out Of Kenya, Accuses Them Of Stifling Resources
President William Ruto has ordered Tata Chemicals Magadi to leave Kenya immediately.
Ruto accused the multinational company of exploiting resources from Kajiado County for more than a century without benefiting the residents.
Speaking in Kajiado on Thursday, September 3, Ruto said a new investor had been found to take over the exploration of resources around Lake Magadi.
However, they have been issued strict conditions requiring local processing and employment opportunities for Kenyans.
“We have Lake Magadi, we have a big company, we have resources that can change Kajiado County and Kenya as a whole,” Ruto said.
“Tata Chemicals Company, which is here in Kajiado, has been running its contract for over 100 years.”
“They have not constructed anything in Kajiado, including even employing people here. I recently told them to vacate and get out of this country. Let them go. They have been taking our resources to India,” he added.
He said the government would bring in a new company to exploit the resources, but with conditions aimed at ensuring Kajiado benefits directly from its minerals.
Ruto added that the new investor would be required to establish a glass processing plant and a chemical processing company in Kajiado, creating opportunities for local employment and value addition.
“We have said we are bringing in a new company, and the new ruling for the new company is that they must establish a glass processing company here and also another company for processing chemicals here in Kajiado,” he added.
The Head of State insisted that Kenya could no longer allow foreign companies to extract local resources without creating significant economic opportunities within the communities where the resources are found.
The announcement comes about a month after Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho ordered Tata Chemicals Magadi to suspend mining operations until it fully complies with Kenya’s mining laws.
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In a statement issued on July 29, Joho said the decision followed years of engagement between the State Department for Mining and Tata Chemicals Magadi Limited over the company’s compliance with its statutory obligations.
Joho said several critical compliance issues remained unresolved despite the prolonged consultations, prompting the government to order the company to halt mining activities.
Among the concerns raised were the absence of a clear mineral beneficiation strategy, outstanding royalty reconciliation and payment obligations, inadequate export reporting and poor implementation of community development agreements.
The government also cited insufficient plans for employing and transferring skills to Kenyans, weak procurement of local goods and services and shortcomings in environmental compliance.
The Ksh10 billion Tata Chemicals Magadi is one of Africa’s largest manufacturers of soda ash and salt, with the company owned by Tata Chemicals Limited, part of India’s Tata Group.
Ruto Orders Multinational Company Out Of Kenya, Accuses Them Of Stifling Resources
