Migori — The Spouse of the Deputy President Pastor Dorcas Rigathi has led the certification of mining cooperatives in Migori County.
Speaking at the Osiri Mining and Marketing Cooperative society office grounds in Nyatike Pastor Dorcas urged the miners to join in cooperatives to make it easier for them to work.
Pastor Dorcas also called on the miners to help in eradication of cases of child labor in the sector.
"I plead with my boychild of the school going ages to first seek education before getting into mining. We should also address the cases of child labor in the mining sector," She said.
Pastor Dorcas said the accreditation of the miners is one way of ensuring that the miners benefit from their day-to-day activities.
"There is a need for accreditation for prior learning so that we can also handle cases of people who are Africans where people just get the experience but have no licenses that can identify them. Let us have a syllabus in our technical training so that we can equip those in the mining sector," she said.
She urged the youth to come up with innovative ways that will safeguard the environment.
"I also urge you to join cooperatives so that it can make it easier for your work. There will be an officer around who will help you with the necessary documents."
During the event she issued licenses to mineral processing, mining permits and safety gears to the miners. The safety gears include gloves, reflectors and head gears. She also handed over a vehicle that will be used for mining services in the county of Migori.
The government is already setting up a gold refinery center in Kakamega as a way of adding value to the minerals.
PS Mining and Blue Economy Elijah Mwangi said there has been progress in reforming the mining sector under the Kenya Kwanza government.
"Mining is a business. We want people to have licenses for business," he said.
He added that a team has been set-up to camp for 5 days to ensure that those carrying out mining trading are given an opportunity to make their applications.
He added that the mining cadaster has been opened for free to facilitate the licensing.
"I know there have been several officers here, but we have been instructed that mining has to work this time round. We want to ensure that the prices of any mineral are predictable for us to benefit the miners," he added.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
PS Mwangi said that the process of decriminalizing artisanal mining has already kicked off strict timelines from President William Ruto.
He said that the ministry of ministry is also working towards the formalization of marketing cooperatives with 246 cooperatives already formalized,23 being from Migori County.
According to the Chairman of the miners in Migori County Kepha Ochuka the certification is the much-needed documentation for the artisanal and small-scale miners. He said the certification will go beyond Migori County.
"This will not just benefit the miners in Migori county but will go beyond the county. In Migori County we have more than 30 registered cooperatives. We wish to remind the stakeholders that there is nothing in mining without miners," he said.
The National Chairman of the Artisanal and small-scale miners Dan Odida called for the gazettement of the Artisanal Mining committee.
The County government of Migori through the CECM in charge of Caleb Opondi urged the government to offer training for miners on environmental risks.
Others present included Patrick Kanyoro from the National Chamber of Commerce, Betty Samburu (CECM Cooperatives Development, Migori County) and John Oringo (CECM Roads and Transport) among others.
