Joho: My plans for the Mining, Blue Economy ministry

Before the parliamentary vetting committee, Joho said he will be a good listener and will focus on involving stakeholders from the public and private sectors. 

The CS nominee was also asked to explain how he will deal with cartels in the mining industry and protect communities from exploitation. 

“There are people doing prospecting for 40 years, it cannot happen. How do you prospect for 40 years. We need to quickly relook our policies. Why is GDP contribution from mining under 1%? It can’t continue like this,” Joho said. 

The CS nominee argued that there are dealers in the mining industry who have been changing ownership of their businesses to avoid accountability and legal scrutiny.  

“If you approve me that is where I begin. Remove cartels, remove brokers. All the time they are gaining profits, Kenyan people are losing. Kenyan population may not have an idea of what geological minerals might be in the country. They must get involved,” he said. 

The former governor further committed to reviewing the benefits that communities get from mining activities within their regions. 

“We should ensure we create systems that function. The Kenyan people should be a priority in receiving royalties. I am looking forward to engage counties. Counties receive a good chunk of royalties, we may need to look at our legal framework. On how we can cushion communities by channelling some resources to development,” he argued, further telling MPs that he will prioritise private sector investments. 

On maritime affairs, Joho noted that fishermen and other persons working in the blue economy need help to be more organised. 

“We must find means, whether through partnership, or private sector. We need to start sponsoring them for deep sea fishing. That will be the game changer.”

“Today, the global demand for seafarers is nearly 1.9 million. Kenya is contributing barely 2%, we have just about 4000 Kenyans getting to the industry. We must re-design our training program to fit into the demand of that opportunity,” he said. 

Joho explained the need to realign training policies to fit the global demand for seafarers. 

“If approved, I will engage MPs on realigning policies around training.”

Joho further detailed a 10-point plan including; Complete digitisation of the ministry, Stakeholders involvement, Blue economy regulatory framework, review of mining act, enhanced community development agreements, international maritime organisations representation, capacity building for deep sea fishing, improved licensing processes and encouraging public-private participation.