Director for Licensing, Compliance and Enforcement at the ministry of Mining, Gregory Kituku, speaks during public participation exercise in Kilifi on four key policy and legislative instruments in mining sector/HANDOUTThe Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs has launched a nationwide public participation exercise on four key policy and legislative instruments aimed at strengthening and modernising Kenya's mining sector.
The instruments under review are the Draft Minerals, Mining and Beneficiation Policy; the Draft Mining (Mine Health, Safety and Environment) Regulations, 2026; and the Draft Explosives Bill, 2026, together with the Explosives (Licences and Fees) Regulations, 2026.
The public participation exercise is being conducted simultaneously across the country by six teams.
One of the teams, led by the Director for Licensing, Compliance and Enforcement, Gregory Kituku, is covering Kilifi, Lamu, Mombasa, Taita Taveta and Machakos counties.
Speaking on Monday in Kilifi Town after the first session, which brought together stakeholders from Kilifi and Lamu counties, Kituku commended participants for their active engagement and valuable contributions, noting that public input is critical in shaping policies and laws that respond to the needs of the mining sector.
“The Draft Mining (Mine Health, Safety and Environment) Regulations, 2026 operationalises the Mining Act, Cap 306 while the Draft Explosives Bill, 2026 together with the Explosives (Licences and Fees) Regulations, 2026 are set to repeal the old explosive Act that was done almost 100 years ago,” Kituku said.
Participants at a public participation exercise in Kilifi on four key policy and legislative instruments in mining sector/HANDOUTOn the part of the Draft Minerals, Mining and Beneficiation Policy, the Director for Licensing, Compliance and Enforcement said there has been a mining policy but it had not captured the issue of mineral beneficiation.
“So, we are updating this mining policy to make it heavy on mineral beneficiation and that is why we are doing that because we want to create jobs for Kenyans, we want to do technology transfer for our people and we want to use it to expand the economy by increasing the amount of investment in the downstream of the mining sector,” he said.
He encouraged stakeholders who were unable to attend the sessions to submit their views by 8th July 2026.
Submissions can be made through hard-copy memoranda at the respective County Mining Offices or electronically by scanning the QR code provided by the Ministry and submitting comments online.
The nationwide exercise underscores the Ministry's commitment to inclusive stakeholders engagement and the development of a safe, sustainable and globally competitive mining sector that contributes meaningfully to Kenya's economic growth.
