Kenya: County Government Urged to Control Small-Scale Mining

Posted on : Saturday, 17th October 2015

An environmentalist in Gatundu wants the government to put in place stringent measures to control small-scale mining with a view to curb environmental degradation in Kiambu County.

The director of Gatundu Data Link Initiative William Kimotho said haphazard mineral exploitation was an “environmental time bomb” to the region.

Speaking at his Gatundu town office, Kimotho called for stringent regulations for the small-scale miners to ensure that their activities were not harmful to the environment.

Stone mining activities in the region has consequently come with array of problems ranging from destruction of farm lands, birth of gaping mine pits, collapsing mine pits leading to deaths of the miners besides other environmental hazards.

Mr. Kimotho explained that besides damaging the environment, uncontrolled mining also exposed miners to health risks for they inhale toxic substances such as mercury and cyanide.

He said small-scale miners did not have the capacity to conduct environmental assessments, making their investments uneconomical.

“I think Kenya do not have adequate personnel to monitor mining making it very hard and dangerous for mineral prospectors to manage this sector,” he said.