Ruto Announces Major Changes to Magadi Mining Deal After Tata Exit

President William Ruto has announced plans to end the old Tata Minerals Magadi mining contract, describing it as an exploitative agreement that has disadvantaged Kajiado residents and Kenyans for decades.

Speaking in Kajiado, Ruto criticized the existing deal involving Tata Chemicals Magadi, describing it as an exploitative arrangement that had denied local communities meaningful economic benefits while minerals were processed outside the country.

“I want to say this for the avoidance of doubt, the challenges we have in Magadi, the contract that was there, the exploitative extractive contract that has been there for 100 years cannot continue anymore,” Ruto said.

Fresh bidding for Magadi contract

Ruto said the government will advertise the contract afresh, allowing other companies to compete for the opportunity instead of leaving the resource under a single company.

He said Magadi’s resources were extensive enough to support multiple investors and promised that the new process would be opened to companies interested in developing the area’s mineral potential.

“Secondly, we are going to advertise afresh so that other companies, not one company, can apply because the resource we have in Magadi is big enough to sustain more than one company,” he said.

A fresh bidding process would mark a significant change in how the government intends to manage the resource, with competition expected to form part of the new contractual framework.

Kenya to handle mineral value addition

Ruto also said the new contract would require mineral value addition to take place locally rather than having raw resources transported abroad for processing.

Also Read: Ruto Issues Ultimatum to Tata Chemicals Magadi or Face Action

He pointed to plans for a glass factory and a chemical factory to be established in Kenya, saying such industries would create employment while ensuring more economic value is retained within the country.

“Glass factory will be done here in Kenya, chemical factory will be done here in Kenya to hire Kenyan workforce, to use Kenyan resources so that we can grow well and we can create value from the products that are available and the resources that are here in the Republic of Kenya,” Ruto said.

The proposal would shift more of the economic activity linked to Magadi’s resources into Kenya, from extraction through processing and manufacturing.

Ruto proposes changes to Magadi land use

He further announced plans to limit the amount of Kajiado land that can be occupied by mining companies.

Ruto said no company would be allowed to take up all 240,000 acres, proposing that investors occupy between 20 and 30 per cent of the land.

“Seventy percent of that land will come back to the people of Kajiado County so that we can use other resources and use it for other purposes,” he said.

Also Read: CS Joho Orders Immediate Shutdown of Tata Chemicals Magadi Mining Operations

The remaining land would be available for other uses by residents of Kajiado County, according to the President, as the government seeks to balance mineral exploitation with broader economic activities in the area.

These changes announced by Ruto are expected to shape the next phase of investment around Tata Chemicals Magadi, with the government now set to open the contract to fresh competition and impose new conditions on local processing and land use.

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Tata Chemicals Company located in Magadi, Kajiado County. Photo/ Courtesy