The County Government is working closely with Ahadi Kenya, Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani (JKP) and Taita Taveta University through Centre of Excellence for Mining, Environmental Engineering and Resource Management (CEMEREM) to offer training to artisanal miners and policymakers.
Members present during the consultative meeting held today at the Deputy Governors boardroom to discuss areas of collaboration between the CountyGovernment and AHADI, proposed that the training be offered on 20th to 27th August and 3rd to10th of September for artisanal miners and policy makers respectively.
Speaking during the meeting, Ahadi Country Director Waceke Wachira said they have secured funds to support the extractive industry develop policy and legislative framework.
She pointed out that Taita Taveta is committed and focused to utilize the funds to address the needs of the County.
Deputy Governor Majala Mlagui said support from Ahadi is timely and critical as they will offer technical advice in policy formulation.
“We have a County Mining Act enacted in 2016 as a stop gap measure. We need to realign it with the national regulations and streamline it to cover the interest of the community and the County Government. We will then convene a meeting with the Coastal region bloc to harmonize and develop a working policy to guide activities in the bordering counties,” said H.E Majala Mlagui.
The Department of Mining will also hold a Mining week as from 13th to 17th August which will culminate to a miners roundtable to be held on 16th and 17th this year.
According to the CECM Mining Majala Mlagui, the mining week is meant to sensitize the community on mining, update them on mining activities in theCounty and get their feedback and challenges. The data collected from this discourse will them be presented to the mineral rights holders and the Ministry of Mining and Petroleum officials during the round table.
The stakeholders observed that there is need to invite technical officers from the Coastal Counties to learn from Taita Taveta during the County Mining Week.
JKP interim Secretary Emanuel Nzai observed that JKP will invite Governors from all the six counties to participate in the consultative regional policy discourse tentatively slated for 20th and 21st of August.
The stakeholders will work together to raise awareness, review CountyPolicy and legislative framework and align it with the mining Act 2016, unbundle artisanal section in the Act and translate it to Swahili for public consumption.
Members present during the meeting included Dr. Justin Maghanga-TTU, Emily Akacho, Rachel Kidenda-Ahadi, Ikal Angela-Ahadi, Ken Kioi-UNDP, Emanuel Nyambu, Lucy Mshai, Peter Sholo and Michelle Samba.
Taita–Taveta County is a county of Kenya. It lies approximately 150 km northwest of Mombasa and 300 km southeast of Nairobi.
The capital is Mwatate, although it is the fourth largest town in the county after Voi, Wundanyi and Taveta in that order.
The population of the county 30 years ago was approximately 45,000 persons but this has shot up to well over 250,000 persons with population densities ranging from 3 persons per km2. to more than 800 persons per km2.
This is due to the varied rainfall and terrain with the lower zones receiving an average 440 mm of rain per annum and the highland areas receiving up to 1900 mm of rain. The district ranges in altitude from 500 m above sea level to 2,228 m at Vuria Peak, which is the district’s highest point.
In 2007, the Taita–Taveta District was split into two districts: the Taita District and the Taveta District. The two were subsequently re-united to form Taita–Taveta County.
The county covers an area of 17,083.9 km2. of which a bulk 62% or 11,100 km2. is within Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks. The remaining 5,876 km2 is occupied by ranches, sisal estates, water bodies such as Lakes Chala and Jipe in Taveta and Mzima springs, and the hilltop forests which occupy less than 100 km2. or approximately 10 km2 out of 587.5 km2.
The lowland areas of the district that do not belong to national parks are divided among ranches, estates, and wildlife sanctuaries. The district has approximately 25 ranches. The main land use in ranch is cattle grazing. The three operating sisal estates of the district are the Teita Sisal Estate, Voi Sisal Estate and Taveta Sisal Estate. Many ranches utilize also wildlife tourism and conservation. The Taita Hills and Saltlick Lodges sanctuary is located in the district.
There are 48 forests which have survived on hill tops in the district of which 28 are gazetted and are under government protection and management. They range in size from small 500 square metres with a few remnant trees to modestly vast 2 square kilometres indigenous and exotic forest mountains. These forests are part of a unique Eastern Arch range of forests which are found mostly in Eastern Tanzania with the Taita Hills forming the only Kenyan Eastern Arc forest type in East Africa.
The Taita Hills forest hold a unique biodiversity with 13 taxa of plants and 9 taxa of animals found only in the Taita Hills and nowhere else in the world. In addition 22 plant species found in the Taita Hills forests are typical of the Eastern arc forests. The next being in eastern Tanzania. Some of the endemic African violet – Saintpaulia teitensis among others. Within these beautiful indigenous forests, bubble pure clean water to the lowland areas to cater for both human agricultural activities and wildlife in the Taita game sanctuary and Aruba dam in Tsavo East. The lower plains are thus supplied with water by the forests in the hills which are a good catchment of rains