Communities living in Kenya’s mining areas are pushing back against a new government formula on how money from minerals is shared, saying they are getting too little and rarely see the funds.
The dispute comes months after the government rolled out new regulations under the Mining Act to guide how royalties are shared. The system gives 70 per cent to the national government, 20 per cent to counties and 10 per cent to local communities.
But miners and residents say the 10 per cent meant for them is not enough, and even worse, it does not reach them directly.
“We cannot accept this 10 per cent. It doesn’t even come to us. It goes through the county and we never see it,” said Hesborn Musambayi, a miners’ representative linked to a gold mining firm in Kakamega.
Another miners’ leader, George Mbavi, said communities feel left out despite bearing the biggest impact of mining activities.
He called for the money to be sent directly to community groups instead of passing through government systems, saying this would improve transparency and accountability.
These issues have even caught the eye of parliamentarians. The National Assembly of Kenya Committee on Delegated Legislation has called into question the current model, contending that communities should receive a larger cut because they will be the ones to suffer the consequences of mining activities.
According to legislators, the current structure fails to capture the situation on the ground, where locals face difficulties due to environmental degradation among others arising from mining.
On his part, however, Mining Cabinet Secretary Ali Hassan Joho has justified the mechanism, claiming that its intention was to introduce discipline in the management of funds from mining.
But he has acknowledged that there have been some delays in the release of funds, observing that, at times, the National Treasury is slow in disbursing the funds.
This conflict reveals the rising rift between the community and the government as the community demands its fair share of the benefits arising from mining in its locality.
