The government through the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs has partnered with Taita Taveta University (TTU) to equip miners with requisite skills that will add value to the sector.
This comes after the government officially decriminalized artisanal miners who were hitherto considered illegal and rogue in the sector.
Mining Cabinet Secretary (CS) Salim Mvurya said miners will be organized into cooperatives to enable them to access financial services and training.
He said his ministry is working closely with TTU, which is a centre of excellence in mining and geology programmes, to help the miners escape poverty.
“Universities will play a key role in making sure that the miners update their skills and technologies so that they can do their business in a good and enabling environment,” noted the CS.
Speaking on the sidelines of the fourth Centre of Excellence for Mining Environmental Engineering and Resource Management (CEMEREM) biennial international conference in Mombasa, the CS said artisanal miners can turn around the country’s economy if empowered.
“These artisanal miners are running into millions and they are doing a really good job to fend for their families and as a government, we have a responsibility to support them,” the CS said.
While noting that previously there was little focus on training related to mining and geology, Mvurya said there is now immense potential and hence the demand for more geologists and mining engineers.
TTU Vice-Chancellor (VC) Professor Fred Barasa said the university is partnering with sponsors with the aim of equipping miners with sufficient knowledge on safety and value addition.
“In the end, they get more value for minerals because they sell value-added gemstones. We also train them on environmental impact assessment,” the VC said.
The CEMEREM forum brought researchers, geologists and mining engineers from seven countries across the world, including Ghana, Finland, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Germany, among others.
By Hilton Mwabili
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