4,000 Kerio Valley residents will be paid before state revives fluorspar mining, State says

Flourspar mining land in Kerio valley [Photo: Standard]

More than 4,000 residents of Kerio Valley will be compensated to pave the way for the revival of fluorspar mining, the Ministry of Mining and Petroleum has said.

Cabinet Secretary John Munyes said the compensation process, which had stalled for several months, would start again next week.

The Kenya Fluorspar Company, which was based at Kimwarer in Kerio Valley, quit in April 2016 and the Government is currently seeking a new investor.

The 4,329 residents affected had differed over the mode of compensation, thereby delaying the process. The residents occupy some 9,000 acres of land earmarked for fluorspar mining.

According to Mr Munyes, the mining company that employed 500 people made Sh4.5 billion from fluorspar exports in 2011 alone.

“We will not get a new investor until we resolve matters of compensation,” Munyes said during a tour of the region on Wednesday.

Munyes said the ministry had constituted a fresh team after another comprising officials from the National Land Commission (NLC), the ministry and residents’ representatives delayed the compensation process.

“NLC had hit a small snag. We have now constituted another compensation committee that will be based at the Elgeyo Marakwet County Commissioner’s office,” the CS said, adding that several investors had shown an interest in mining the fluorspar.

Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos said the exit of the company had caused massive job losses, noting that it was the only factory in the county. Apart from the plant, the mining company had a health facility and a primary school. The health facility is being run by the county government.

Joseph Kandie, a local resident, urged the ministry to speed up the compensation process.

“There have been several hitches but we are optimistic that the process will eventually be successful for the benefit of residents. Our economy was good when mining was thriving,” Mr Kandie said.

NLC had promised the locals that they would be compensated before end of June.