Murang’a County Commissioner (CC) Ngumo Karuku, led the assessment of various scrap metal dealers in the County, to determine whether they had met the requirements for licenses.
The CC, speaking on May 10, during the assessment by a multi-agency team noted that many of the dealers had not met all the requirements required for them to be issued with licenses and called upon the responsible officers to organize training for them.
We only have five dealers and it is therefore possible to train them on the requirements so that they can get their licenses,” he noted.
He noted that all the dealers had already paid the license fee and should therefore be helped through the remaining part of the process.
The team of officials from Kenya Railways, Kenya Police, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), and the County Industrial Development office among others visited four out of the five dealers who have applied for the new licenses required by the Scrap Metal Council in Murang’a County.
Murang’a County Industrial Development officer, David Mbithuka, stated that there are several requirements that have to be met before any dealer can be issued with a certificate.
“The dealers are required to have a Scrap Metal Dealers Association membership number and certificate as well as a business registration certificate,” he said.
“They also should have a business permit, plot title or lease agreement, Tax Compliance Certificate and the directors’ details such as KRA PIN and Certificate of Good Conduct,” he added.
Mbithuka stated that the dealers are also required to keep detailed records of all their scrap metal sales and purchases including the name and ID number of the person buying or selling the scrap metal.
“The dealer should know the source of the scrap metal they are dealing with and capture the details of the person selling to them, which include name, phone number, address and source of the metal,” he said.
The dealers are also required to have detailed signposts indicating that they are authorized scrap metal dealers, and displaying their license number.
If the dealer also deals in scrap metals of copper and aluminum, they are required to have another license for them, adding that the licensee also has to conform to environmental laws and regulation of NEMA.
A dealer applies for the license at a cost of Sh250, 000, while a collector of scrap metal parts with Sh50, 000 for a license.
The assessment also sought to find out whether the dealer had any metal from critical infrastructure from government institutions and parastatals.
The above requirements have been put in place to regulate the sector after president Uhuru Kenyatta put a moratorium on the export or the buying and selling of any scrap material in January 2022.
By Purity Mugo
