Sucre Ethique - Kenya : Tough Times for Moved Families

Daily Nation - lundi 31 janvier 2011

Nairobi — Families moved from a titanium mining area in Kwale District are grappling with infrastructure problems as they settle on their new farms.

Despite this Bwiti region in Kwale is agriculturally rich. Those with parcels of land have registered for a sugarcane out-growers programme being initiated by the Kwale Sugar International Company Ltd which revived Ramisi Sugar Company that collapsed over two decades ago.

There are 72 families outside the mining areas whose land will be acquired before the end of this year. Their parcels are within an area that will be ultimately inundated after the construction of a dam on the Mukurumudzi River. The land is earmarked for the main water supply dam for mining operations.

The mining lease area has now been completely vacated by close to 400 families -both freehold title holders and squatters -who were living within the total land area incorporated into the Special Mining Lease, approximately 3,300 acres.

Families were paid Sh80,000 per acre for land, structures, trees and crops according to government valuations. Each family was also allocated 5.5 acres of land.

Tiomin Kenya spent Sh480 million in the resettlement programme according to the firm’s general manager Mr Joe Schwarz. Base Resources Ltd, an Australian mining company later acquired the mining business from Tiomin Kenya Ltd on July 30 last year.

The acquisition followed completion of a satisfactory due diligence, securing the consent of the Government of Kenya and completion of a Sh640 million ($8 million) capital raising.

"The compensation applied to title holders and squatters alike without distinction under the oversight of the District Resettlement and Compensation Committee (DRCC), a representative body appointed by government," said Mr Schwarz.

Mr Joseph Kimeu, a former squatter in the SML area was compensated Sh290,000 for the land, crop and structures. The minimum compensation was pegged at Sh120,000.

"An acre of land in the region goes for between Sh25,000 and Sh45,000 and squatters like me were able to acquire more than twice the sizes of the parcels we surrendered," said Mr Kimeu adding that he never dreamt of possessing a piece of land with a title deed.

Mr Kassim Bakari, a former area MP and community spokesperson during negotiations owned 22 acres of land. "The government did not provide sufficient infrastructure in Bwiti settlement scheme and most of those allocated land there have not been able to put them to proper use," said Mr Bakari.

It has been a rough road for titanium mining in Kwale since it was first explored in 1994. Tiomin Kenya was first granted exploration rights in Kenya in 1996. Getting clearance for the project was equally hard which has seen the firm sink about Sh3.6 billion, according to Mr Schwarz.

Mining requires large sums of investment in capital and there are no guaranteed returns, said Mr Schwarz. In Kenya, Tiomin has faced a lot of unforeseen hurdles, which have now been overcome.