Steel tycoon Narendra Raval to meet ranchers over mining wrangles

Devki Group chairman Narendra Raval. [File, Standard]

A proposal by Devki Group to seek a mining consent to extract iron ore in Taita Taveta's Manga area will be determined today by shareholders of Kishushe Ranching Cooperative Society.

The ranch management has convened a Special General Meeting (SGM) for over 700 shareholders to approve or disapprove the investor’s application to extract iron ore in the vast 60,000-acre ranch endowed with enormous industrial and precious minerals beneath.

The new ranch officials confirmed that Devki Group chairman  Narendra Raval will appear before the shareholders today to seek approval of his mining consent proposal.

Raval was issued with a prospecting mining licence to extract iron for its new Sh11 billion plant but received a hostile environment from the local community that had vowed not to allow him to operate in the area without consent from the shareholders.

The investor was controversially allocated 14,500 acres of land by a rival ranch group.

“We met with the investor in Nairobi in a consultative meeting and agreed with him that he should appear before the ranch shareholders to seek a mining consent. The investor will appear before the ranch members and is the one who is sponsoring the SGM,” disclosed the Ranch Treasurer Newton Mwakilenge.

Wilfred Mwalimo, the Ranch Secretary, has already issued the SGM notice, which will take place tomorrow at the facility’s headquarters in the Kishushe location.

“All members of Kishushe Ranching Cooperative Society Limited are hereby notified that an SGM shall be held on January 30th this year at 10 am.

The meeting is on engagement on Devki Steel Mills' proposal and members' consent, which requires resolution by members,” stated the agenda of the notice dated January 15th this year.

Earlier, the ranch managers and Wundanyi legislator Danson Mwashako claimed the government is trying to impose Devki without the consent of the ranch as required in law. The ranch and Mr Mwashako vowed not to allow the investor to operate in the area that is rich in precious and industrial minerals.

“We will not accept mining investors to come through the back door to operate in the region without involving landowners,” warned Matilda Walegwa, the Ranch chairperson, earlier.

The official accused his ministry of regularising illegal consents, presiding over squatter evictions and displacing locals.

Walegwa called for the immediate nullification of all illegal mining consents and removal of illegitimate investors from the mining cadastre, which is riddled with corruption.

She also asked Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho to punish his officers who approved the licence and tampered with the cadastre for the benefit of Devki.

The official said all investors interested in extracting iron ore, among other mineral deposits, must be approved by the ranch shareholder.

Ms Walegwa disclosed that so far the ranch has already approved three investors to extract iron ore, and they include Samrudha EA Limited, Archers Post and Universal Companies.

“The Ministry of Mines appears to be validating these illegal consents instead of upholding the requirements of free, prior, and informed consent from rightful landowners as stipulated under the Mining Act 2016, the Community Land Act, the Cooperative Societies Act, and environment and social safeguards principles,” she noted.

The ranch officials claimed that due to validation of illegal consents, investors with lawful approvals from the ranch cannot be pegged in the cadastre or be granted prospective mining licences.

“We have been receiving threatening messages from security circles while dealing with Devki, and no amount of intimidation will stop us from defending the community’s land rights,” vowed Mwalimo.

“We have no problem with Devki. The problem with him is that he is using state operatives for protection, and he does not want to follow the law.  The government should remove his company from the mining cadastre to provide a level ground for all interested investors to mine in the vast ranch,” he noted.

Mwalimo had earlier claimed that a Local Purchase Order (LPO) to supply iron ore to the steel plant had been given to outsiders. “There are no single suppliers from the region who have been issued with an LPO to supply iron ore to the plant, as all contracts have been awarded to outside suppliers.