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{
    "id": 531450,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/531450/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 422,
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    "content": "You may also have realised that there has been a craze of mineral prospection and discoveries and people wanting to own minerals in their counties. They seem to be very pertinent that the moment they discover some minerals, they go ahead to ensure that the area is surveyed. They also put a claim to such land so that they are heavily compensated by mineral owners. Minerals are natural resources. The moment they are exploited, a lot of money is accrued by either the county or the country. However, going by what we know and the benefits we have got from various discoveries, for instance, Magadi Soda which is found in Magadi made it possible to have a railway line to be built from Konza to Magadi Town. The construction was done by a foreign company, Imperial Chemical Limited (ICL). That railway line has benefitted not only Magadi and Konza towns but also people living along the railway line. This is just because of the mineral trona which is refined to become salt and other associated chemical industries. These minerals are associated with the presence of the lake. We are discussing like we are trying to embark on minerals which, otherwise, have not been known to be there before. The moment they are found, you can see the benefits accruing to the people living along the riverine or the same areas where such minerals are found. We are yet to get the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (LAPSSET) corridor starting form Lamu and this one has attracted a lot of attention. The Lamu Port is coming up just because it is going to be used to export quite a number of minerals coming all the way from Turkana, South Sudan and southern Ethiopia. The railway and the pipeline to be constructed is a clear indication that the country is moving in the right direction. The moment that infrastructure is developed, we are going to see a lot of Kenyans employed in the Lamu for construction works in the port and also to put up the railway line and so on. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, here, we are to discuss Kenya as a country which has of late become a mineral rich country just like South Africa which is known internationally as a mineral storehouse. So, we can also equate our Kenyan discoveries of what we are doing to a storehouse in East Africa. That will bring to a lot of contribution particularly towards the urbanization, employment, infrastructural construction like railways, roads and pipelines. We need to think about this development aspect. You note that a lot of other minerals have been known to be in a raw state and the moment these minerals are refined; smelted like copper or refined like gold in Macalder and Migori, they are exported to international markets where they fetch a lot of money. This will earn revenue and also foreign exchange to the country. This can also be translated to mean that the same money can be used to develop other things. This is what we are trying to envisage because we are trying to compare Kenya with other countries which have been mineral rich and know the benefits of minerals like are South Africa, Nigeria which produces oil and Germany where there is coal. These countries have benefited a lot from the exploitation of the minerals to a very great extent, to a point where they are said to be industrial rich and in the first or second category in the world. This is what we are all aiming at. The moment we come to think about the mining – how we can refine, transport and sell oversees – we are also thinking about the expansion of our economy which is The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}