The government has lifted the ban imposed on scrap metal trade two months ago.
Industrialization Cabinet Secretary, Betty Maina, while lifting the ban, stated that all traders must be vetted at the county level before being allowed to engage in the business.
The lift on the ban takes effect May 1, with the government stating that only dealers who successfully applied for and received licenses will be allowed to carry out the business.
CS Maina noted that any individuals caught engaging in the buying and selling of scrap metal without authorization will be liable to a fine of up to Ksh20 million upon conviction.
"Any person undertaking scrap metal trade without a license commits an offence and is liable to fines ranging from Ksh10 million to Ksh20 million as part of tough measures aimed at regulating the sector," Maina stated.
"All those who applied for licences will be vetted by the multi-agency teams established in each county and chaired by the county commissioner prior to issuance of licences."
The lift on the ban comes a month after Interior Cabinet Secretary, Fred Matiang'i, announced that dealers would be licensed afresh. Matiang'i stated that the government would only lift the moratorium if all dealers complied with the new regulations.
On April 5, scrap metal traders, who had pleaded with President Uhuru Kenyatta to ease the embargo, noted that they had incurred losses running to hundreds of millions of shillings.
The businessmen, under the Kenya Iron and Scrap Metal Association (KISMA) umbrella, noted that they had lost Ksh800 million in the two months the ban was in effect. They asked the government to temporarily lift the ban to allow them clear their stock.
"We want President Kenyatta to help those of us who have licenses to return to work. Some of us borrowed money to get the license. We ask the President to give us 60 days to sell the stock we have," the representative pleaded.
President Uhuru Kenyatta issued the ban on scrap metal business following the rise in the cases of vandalism tagetting power cables and a section of the Standard Gauge railway.
He further ordered that treason charges be preferred against individuals caught vandalizing natural infrastructure projects. Uhuru noted that the projects cost billions of shillings and that the trade was the motivating factor for the lawlessness.
"It is clear that these are acts of economic sabotage which fall as a treasonable act and the law is clear on how you deal with them.
"We have put a moratorium on the export or buying and selling of any scrap material until we have put in place proper guidelines that will ensure that material is not coming from the hard investments that the Kenyan people have made," the President stated.
