Tata Chemicals told to pay Ksh13 billion before resuming operations in Magadi

The Kajiado County Government has issued a set of demands to Tata Magadi Chemicals Limited, including the return of portions of land occupied by the company to local residents.

Speaking in an interview on Citizen TV on Sunday, September 13, Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku characterised the company’s operation in Magadi as historical land injustice.

According to the governor, the company owes the county government Ksh13 billion in outstanding land rates and must pay the funds before the company is reopened.

“We have many concerns about it. We in the county government are supposed to get our land rates. The company is the only one in the country that does not pay land rates.  they owe the county government Ksh13 billion,” Lenku stated.

At the same time, the governor is demanding that some tracts of land occupied by the company be returned to the people. Lenku claimed that Tata Chemicals occupies over 200,000 acres but only operates on about 11,000 acres.

He argues that the remaining thousands of acres should be returned to the locals who use them as a grazing field.

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“Magadi is occupying huge grazing land for our community. The salt is only 11,000 acres, yet they occupy over 200,000 acres of land,” he added.

In addition to some of the lands being returned to the community, the county government is also calling for fairer terms and community benefit sharing for any company operating in the area.

The demands come days after Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho established a high-level technical committee to address compliance concerns with Tata Chemicals Magadi Limited, following its suspension of operations at Lake Magadi. 

Joho said the committee will investigate some outstanding issues before the suspension of the company’s operations can be lifted.

Among the key issues the committee seeks to address are mineral beneficiation and in-country value addition, outstanding community benefits and royalty obligations, and unresolved land matters.

President William Ruto ordered the company to close down operations in the area after nearly 100 years, saying it has been operating there without improving the living standards of locals.

According to Ruto, Magadi will be opened to competitive companies that will establish factories in the country, rather than exporting raw materials extracted from the mining site.

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