“Make deals with mining firms public, Kenyan Government told”

The secretive nature of deals signed between and companies prospecting for minerals, oil and natural gas in Kenya could be exposing the country to major losses in future…The Kenya Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas (KCSPOG) said despite the country having started to export different minerals including gold and titanium as well as getting closer to being an oil exporter, there is no clarity on how the country will share revenues with the firms.  The organisation now wants the Government to make the contracts open for scrutiny and also see the extent to which Kenya will benefit from its resources…

KCSPOG Co-ordinator Charles Wanguhu said the organisation had written to Mining and Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretaries, requesting for the contracts with mining and oil and gas companies operating in the country. “There is need to ascertain whether we are signing good deals,” said Mr Wanguhu at a press briefing in Nairobi. There has been debate about what proportion of revenues should from oil should go the national and county governments as well as host communities. “The challenge is that we do not know how much will be left for the country after the production companies have taken their share. Such a revenue split is contained in the contracts that have remained confidential.”