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Article

8 Jan 2018

Author:
Fred Kibor, Standard Digital

Kenya: More than 4,000 families displaced for flouride extraction to be compensated after waiting for more than five decades

“Government starts fluorspar compensation following President Uhuru's directive”

The Government has stepped up compensation for 4,329 displaced landowners who gave up their property for the extraction of fluoride in Kerio Valley. The news comes as a relief for the landowners, who have been calling for reimbursement over the last five decades after giving up 9,070 acres to Kenya Fluorspar Company. Fluorspar is used to make steel, aluminium and refrigerant gases...President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the Ministry of Mining to start compensation and address the area’s land issues immediately. This was followed by a sensitisation meeting in Kerio Valley that brought together the landowners, local leaders and officials from the ministry, National Treasury and National Land Commission (NLC)…The Government pledged to release funds to compensate the affected landowners in the current financial year.

Mureithi, a commissioner with NLC and a member of the inter-ministerial commission, said the task force had begun sensitising the locals on findings of their report and measures being taken to address the matter. “Among the recommendations in the report was compensation, which we have begun in earnest. We are optimistic about concluding the exercise within the current financial year. Already, we are working with the community to establish the land ceded,” said Mr Mureithi.  He said the landowners would be duly compensated and because the land was communally owned, they must first establish the genuine landowners before the valuation exercise to determine how much the community would receive.