A raft of reforms has been initiated to crack down on illegal gold mining in a bid to end the spate of deaths in West Pokot County.
In a renewed bid to restore order in the lucrative trade, the county government has required all gold miners to apply for official licences.
The county government has also urged small-scale miners to form cooperatives to empower locals and shield them from exploitation by larger and often unlicensed operators.
Besides the formation of the cooperatives, Mining Principal Secretary Harry Kimutai also urged the county government to form a community development agreement association to be in charge of royalties, which will be paid directly through the licenses.
"For the small miners, we are urging them to form cooperatives to support them in mining. We have noted the big miners who are taking advantage of the small ones do not have licenses," Kimutai said.
West Pokot County has arguably been the hardest hit with mining tragedies in recent months, with several deaths recorded due to illegal mining. In one of the latest incidents, four people died after the collapse of a mine in Turkwel.
Days later, one person was confirmed dead at Kambi Karaya after the collapse of a gold mine, prompting the government to order the closure of over 500 mines in the county.
So far, four mining cooperatives have been registered, with 27 more projected to be formed in the near future as part of a broader regulatory framework.
Local leaders have since weighed in on the reforms, with Sigor Member of Parliament Peter Lokachapong calling for transparency and inclusivity.
“There has to be genuine and adequate participation to ascertain that miners have been consulted before the issuance of certificates," he said.
Kapenguria MP Samuel Moroto also revealed on Saturday that Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho was set to issue mining certificates to compliant operators, effectively shutting out rogue players from the sector.
Part of the reason the county government is trying to regulate the mining sector in West Pokot is to curb incidences of environmental degradation and deterioration of the education system, since unregulated mining activities led to increased cases of school dropouts.
