NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 3 — Members of Parliament allied to the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) have accused President William Ruto of using regulatory concerns as a pretext to push Tata Chemicals out of Lake Magadi, alleging that the government is targeting potentially lucrative lithium and oil deposits in the area.

📻 Breaking It Down

The MPs demanded the “immediate and unconditional” reversal of the suspension of Tata Chemicals Magadi, warning that the shutdown threatens jobs, local livelihoods and essential services in Magadi.

In a statement issued as Ruto toured Kajiado County, the MPs dismissed the government’s compliance and licensing concerns as a “decoy” and alleged that the real issue was the potential value of mineral and petroleum resources in the Magadi area.

“The flimsy excuses given are just a decoy; the truth of the matter is, there are huge deposits worth trillions of shillings of LITHIUM metals underneath the Magadi area. Further, there are huge oil prospects in the same vicinity within which TATA Chemicals Limited operates,” the MPs said.

📌 What You Need to Know

They accused Ruto of pursuing Kenya’s natural resources for personal interests, making a series of allegations concerning resource projects in different parts of the country.

“Kenya’s Natural resources cannot be individualized to your personal interests,” they said, alleging that the President had previously been involved in interests surrounding oil in Turkana and mineral exploration in Shimba Hills, Laikipia, Narok and Kakamega.

The MPs also alleged that Ruto was seeking to force Tata Chemicals out of Magadi to bring in new investors, including what they described as his “Gulf energy associates”, to pursue oil exploration.

“Mr. William Ruto, in his unsatiable appetite for material wealth, wants to create a crisis by throwing out Tata Chemicals or getting a majority of shareholding, bring in his Gulf energy associates to do oil exploration and cash away with the fortune,” they said.

The DCP lawmakers said the suspension had put the livelihoods of more than 100,000 people in and around Magadi at risk, while directly affecting hundreds of workers employed by the company.

They said the closure would result in the loss of more than 500 direct jobs and thousands of jobs among support workers.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya