Migori County Commissioner David Gitonga has warned unlicensed miners to shut down their mining activities and acquire first the necessary documents to commence their work.

Gitonga who addressed the press at his office said that the unlicensed miners are denying both the County and the National government revenue, adding that their activities are illegal and against the law.

Gitonga noted that for the past five months, seven lives have been lost from different mining sites within the County.

He said that the security team and the County government will work together to ensure that all unlicensed miners are tracked and legal actions taken against them.

He called upon the artisan miners to join cooperatives and Sacco’s to enable them to get government support as well as fulfil the requirements from the environmental and health regulations.

In August 2023 The National government suspended all mining operations in Migori County and issued notices to machine operators and artisanal miners to acquire licenses.

Early this year, the Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya while visiting Migori urged artisanal miners in the County to get proper documentation for their operations.

Source: Kenya News Agency