The National Treasury, in collaboration with the State Department for Mining, has committed to disburse over Sh460 million in mineral royalties owed to communities this financial year after enacting the new Mineral Royalty Fund Sharing Regulations, 2023.
Mineral royalties are financial benefits awarded to the communities where mining activities take place to support the realisation of community development projects and interventions.
According to a Treasury Officer, Mr. Patrick Wachira, the monies have been lying at the Treasury due to lack of modalities for sharing the proceeds with the host communities.
When addressing mining stakeholders during a public engagement forum on the draft regulations seeking to amend the Mining Act, 2016, held in Kisumu County on Wednesday, Wachira noted that the new bill proposes the establishment of a Community Mineral Royalty Management Committee for each benefiting community to expedite the disbursement of the 10 per cent share to local communities.
“According to Section 183(5) of the Mining Act, 2016, the national government will be entitled to 70 per cent, the county government 20 per cent and the community where the mining operations occur will be entitled to 10 per cent of the revenue accruing from mining activities,” he said.
Wachira said the Treasury already leveraged the existing frameworks to channel the funds due to the 32 benefiting counties since they did not require any change in legislation.
“The Treasury has collected and accumulated the royalties from 2016 to June 2022, and the new regulations seek to unlock the disbursement of mineral royalties to host communities,” Wachira said.
Edwin Otoyo, a gold miner from Bondo, Siaya County, lauded the government for fast-tracking the release of the funds, saying it would aid in the development of road networks, electricity connections, and other social amenities to serve the miners and other community members.
Speaking at the event, the National Environment Management Authority Officer (NEMA) for Kisumu County, Mr. Leonard Ofulaty, emphasised the need for the communities to prioritise projects related to the rehabilitation of the mine sites.
The meeting was attended by artisanal miners and mineral dealers from Homa Bay, Kakamega, Kisumu, Siaya, Bungoma, and Vihiga counties.
By Robert Ojwang’
