The Turkana Artisanal Mining Committee, which was gazetted in 2021, has finally started work, igniting hope for the betterment of miners and the entire population of the County. The six-member Committee, headed by Akilimo Safari, whose mandate is to bridge the link between National and County Government roles in the mining sector with respect to licencing, compliance, controls, market linkages, permit processing, and ensuring miners safety, is expected to serve for a period of three years. Chief Officer for Mining and Energy, David Maraka, affirmed the county government’s commitment to working with the Committee to propel the mining sector to new heights, as envisioned by Governor Lomurkai’s nine-point agenda for Turkana. Mr. Maraka hinted that the collaboration was aimed at promoting the uptake of mining approaches that would facilitate sustainable exploitation of the rich Manganese, Tourmaline, Gold, Iron, Garnet, limestone, and Gypsum deposits in Turkana. The CCO was speaking in Lodwar, where he visited the Committee’s stand during the just concluded 5th National ECD Stakeholder’s Conference.
Source: Kenya News Agency