House committee to quiz CS over mineral exports
Mercy Mwai @wangumarci
A house committee has summoned Petroleum and Mining Cabinet Secretary John Munyes, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to shed light on the illegal exports of minerals by persons and companies not authorised to do so.
Consequently, the committee has also summoned companies and individuals who are engaging in exportation of minerals without having valid licences from the Ministry of Mining.
National Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chaired by Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi made the resolutions after it emerged that 44 companies and other persons were engaging in the mining business yet they had no valid export permits.
Those affected include three firms dealing with Gold firms, five dealing in Gemstones, seven dealing in salt and 29 others dealing in soapstone products. They said the companies have been engaging in the exportation of minerals since 2016.
Regulation 18 of the Mining Act (Dealings in Minerals) Regulations, 2017 provides that a person shall not export a mineral unless the person holds a permit granted by the Cabinet Secretary for that purpose while regulation 19 provides that a person shall not be qualified to apply for a permit to export minerals unless such a person is a holder of a mining licence, mining permit or a dealer’s permit.
“We have resolved to call the CS mining, KPA, KRA and Gold and gemstones companies to appear before us over this illegal export,” said Wandayi.
The committee made the decision after Acting Director, Mining Raymond Mutiso who accompanied Petroleum and Mining Principal Secretary Andrew Kamau to respond to audit queries relating to the 2018/2019 financial year, denied knowledge of the existence of the companies.
Kamau said that although KRA has records of the said firms, as a ministry they are not aware of the said companies yet they engaged in the exportation of the minerals.
Gold exporters
“We wrote a letter to KRA to give us records to compare with ours but we have not received any response since June 2020.
We couldn’t trace the three Gold exporters and five gemstone exporters in our records and therefore we do not have their details,” he said.
The committee had invited Kamau to appear before it after Auditor General Nancy Gathungu in her report relating to the 2018/2019 financial year said it was not possible to confirm how the 41 exporters were allowed to trade in the minerals without permits or how the permits, if any, may have been issued without payment of mineral export levies.
Mineral export records at KRA for the year under review, revealed exports of minerals by persons and companies who, according to the State Department’s data, were not holders of valid export, mining or dealers’ permits.
The statement of receipts and transfers reflects Sh7.2 million and Sh74.4 million from mineral export levy and mining royalties respectively. The receipts are comprised of levies on sales of minerals and permits for mineral exports.
Regulation 18 provides that a person shall not export a mineral unless the person holds a permit granted by the Cabinet Secretary for that purpose while Regulation 19 provides that a person shall not be qualified to apply for a permit to export minerals unless such a person is a holder of a mining license, mining permit or a dealer’s permit,” reads the report in part.
