As efforts to combat illicit mining in Kenya gather pace, the government has put on notice cement manufacturers in Kenya over engaging in practices that promote the vice by censoring cement-manufacturers against procuring processing ingredients from unlicensed sources.
The Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Hassan Ali Joho faulted some cement processing companies for abetting the operations of illegal miners by purchasing critical ingredients in cement-making from the unauthorized dealers.
The CS pointed out that by continually buying such minerals from illegal sources, the firms were directly encouraging the continued illegal exploitation of Kenya's minerals by unscrupulous miners and traders who were operating outside the law.
This, he said, made the firms complicit in encouraging violation of the Mining Act Cap 306 and other attendant laws.