Kilifi county stakeholders have made a passionate appeal to the county and national Government ,to immediately lift the ban on mining activities in Jaribuni area of Ganze Constituency claiming it was hurting the economy.
Mining in Jaribuni was suspended three weeks ago by Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Ali Joho after residents of jaribuni held demonstration protesting against dilapidated roads leading to the quarries in jaribuni.
The Stakeholders including members of Malindi Economic Development Council, The Kilifi County Diary and Pwani Professionals Forum said while the issues raised by the community members regarding the mining activitities in jaribuni was genuine there was need for all parties to come together and find a long-lasting solution.
To them the issue of tarmac was important and investors were willing to support the process but such a process would take long and if there could be a way to grade the road as a temporary solution then reopen the mining it would help save the millions lost each day.
In a press release signed by Joseph Iha Chairman Malindi Economic Development Council, Capt. (Rtd) Dr Philip Chula Vice Chairman Malindi Economic Development Council, Eng. Mumba Hinzano Chairman the Kilifi County Diary and Jillo A. Kasse Chairman Pwani Professionals om behalf of the Investors, Contractors, Developers, Transporters, Drivers, and Concerned Kilifi residents they said if the stand-off is allowed to continue without intervention, there will be massive losses for the entire county.
“There are no winners in this impasse. The county is losing. The investors, developers and contractors are incurring massive losses. The Kilifi residents (read Voters) are hurting the most, said Iha.
The Malindi Economic Development Council Chairman said the Kilifi Governor and the Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy& Maritime Affairs hold the key to the immediate resolution of Jaribuni Mining stalemate and called on them to ensure they come up with an urgent resolution to end the crisis.
He said the county government and the Quarry owners; mining investors should be allowed to provide the interim solution by grading and compacting the road as earlier agreed so that the citizens’ main concern is addressed and the quarries are re-opened.
“Thereafter, the National Government in collaboration with the County Government of Kilifi can work together to provide a lasting solution for the many other grievances that were raised by the community,” he said.
On his part Chula said the matter of compliance raised by the CS Mining, should be handled on case-by-case basis, and mining companies found to be non-compliant should be dealt with in accordance with the laws of Kenya.
He said the blanket ban on mining and quarry activities should be immediately lifted as it was unfair to those who were complying with the laws.
“This is a win-win proposition for all stakeholders to resolve the current impasse and stop the ongoing massive losses being incurred daily,” he said.
The stakeholders quoted Andy Gilman, President & CEO of Comm Core Consulting Group said on crisis management who said, ‘’The secret of crisis management is not good vs bad, it’s preventing the bad from getting worse’’.
The Jaribuni Mining crisis begun on February 26 2025 after the residents of Jaribuni, Ganze Constituency took to the streets to protest against the dilapidated roads leading to the ballast and other mining quarries in the area.
They were concerned that there was massive dust caused by the trucks and lorries daily as they plied the road to ferry ballast and other materials in the area which had become hazardous to their health.
Already the community revealed that several residents had been diagnosed with chest complications due to the daily inhalation of the dust.
Further they said their residential and commercial properties along the roads were all covered by the same dust leading to corrosion and destruction.
Angered by the prolonged effects of the problem they blocked and barricaded the two main roads leading to the quarry and mining sites - Dzitsoni-Jaribuni and Majajani-Jaribuni roads.
They demanded an audience with the Kilifi County Governor to seek assurance that the roads would be tarmacked to mitigate the health hazards.
They met with the governor a week later on March 4 and after the meeting it was agreed that the county to offer the machinery while the investors issue ballast to grade the road.
This turned to the worse on March 6 when the Mining CS came to a meeting called by the governor with Investors and community members to set up a road map that would see the issues addressed.
Its in that meeting that the CS ordered for the suspension of mining activities until the issues were resolved.
Joho ordered the mining investors within the Jaribuni area to first comply with all mining laws and regulations, and that they ought to account for all royalties and levies paid since they started operations.
He promised that he would send his Secretary for Miningand a team from his ministry to assist the mining investors and quarry owners in all compliance matters.
On Wednesday March 12 2025, a committee of the quarry owners and mining investors travelled to Nairobi to meet the CS Mining and his team to seek clarification on the ministry’s position but were turned down.
According to the stakeholders Kilifi County has been struggling to meet its own-source revenues target for the past three years.
They said In the FY 2022/2023 the county achieved only 63%of its target and in FY2023/2024, only 67% was achieved.
To them the impact of closure of the quarries and mining activities doesn’t just affect CESS fees from the ballast quarries but also from the coral blocks and sand quarries since the materials are used in supplementation during the construction.
Currently they said Several roads and building construction projects within Kilifi County have been suspended or significantly scaled down, leading to massive losses to Contractors and Real Estate developers to the tune of hundreds of millions of shillings.
“Roads projects cannot be done without hardcore, boulders, chips and ballast. Building and housing projects cannot be done without ballast. The ballast quarries located within Jaribuni area of Ganze Constituency serve the entire Kilifi County and its environs,” said the press release in part.
They said currently Thousands of residents who depend on the construction value-chains have now been rendered jobless.
