Some 4,329 landowners displaced to allow the extraction of fluoride in the Kerio Valley now want to be compensated before the Kenya Fluorspar Mines Company (KFC), closed six years ago, reopens.
Presenting their views to a task force that will oversee the revival of the firm, residents claimed they have been seeking compensation for over five decades.
Landowners had donated over 9,000 acres of their ancestral land more than five decades ago but they were not compensated and appeals to the company had been futile, said Joseph Kandie, chairman of the Sugutek Community Trust.
“We are tired of being taken in circles and we hope this time round we shall have a lasting solution to the protracted issue. As owners, we need an end to the suffering of residents who wholeheartedly donated the land for extraction of minerals,” Mr Kandie said.
He regretted that most of the landowners had died without seeing a penny and appealed to the task force to ensure they get it right this time around.
Collapsed and closed doors
KFC collapsed in 2016 and closed its doors in 2018.
By 2015, it employed about 600 people, who earned about Sh160 million in wages annually, said a study by Lotus Consulting firm on the ‘economic and social impact of fluorspar mining in Kenya’.
“Indirectly and via induced spending, fluorspar mining supported an additional 12,664 jobs in the Kenyan economy. This indicates an overall employment multiplier of 22,” the report said.
“This means therefore that, for every 10 jobs at KFC, an additional 210 jobs were supported elsewhere.”
It added: “From the distribution of indirect and induced output, it implies that most jobs supported were largely concentrated in labour-intensive sectors including agriculture, transport and storage, education, human health and social work activities and manufacturing.”
Joseph Kandie, chairman of the Sugutek Community Trust presenting views to taskforce on revival of Kenya Fluorspar Mines Company. Some Some 4,329 landowners displaced to allow the extraction of fluoride in the Kerio Valley want to be compensated before the company is revived.
Photo credit: Courtesy | Pool
Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wisley Rotich, who formed the task force, said public participation in reviving the company is one step in the process.
“All the public recommendations will be considered ahead of the reopening of the factory because the community consent on the revival of the once vibrant mining company which employed more than 2,000 people is very key,” he said.
Geological surveys
Geological surveys, he said, have shown that fluorspar in the Kerio Valley can be mined for the next 30 years and it should be used to spur socioeconomic development in the region.
“The report will be forwarded to the Ministry of Mining and President William Ruto, who is aware of the process, for onward revival of the firm,” he said.
Rights activist Jerotich Seii said it was unacceptable that a third phase of leasing can begin without justice for residents who donated land without being compensated.
“It is infuriating and painful to experience the anguish of the families that continue to wait in vain,” she said.
“The extractive industry must adhere to the Mining Act of 2016, in addition to all other legal and constitutional provisions that exist for the protection of rights.
“This should include frameworks around shareholding; market value compensation; [and] environmental restoration/protection.”
Compensation relief
Former Marakwet West MP William Kisang, who also attended the meeting, said compensation will come as a big relief to the landowners who have been asking for it from the previous four successive governments.
“We are optimistic that the Kenya Kwanza administration will offer a lasting solution to the suffering of thousands of families when the firm has been making billions each year from the minerals,” he said.
Mr Kisang said he and others will lead a delegation to State House in Nairobi to plead with President Ruto to help revive the firm and have locals compensated.
