The Mining sector is at important and critical cross roads. This follows the enactment of the mining Act 2016 which came into force on 27th May 2016. This new Mining Act which has been described by international mining experts and lawyers as the most progressive Mining Law in Africa replaces the archaic Cap 306 Mining Law which governed the mining sector in Kenya for the past seventy-six years. The new mining law is expected to tremendously transform the governance architecture of the Mining sector in Kenya and usher a transparent, objective predictable fiscal regime and management of the mineral rights & concessions. Some of the new and far reaching features of the Act include benefit sharing of royalties between national government, county governments and communities in whose localities mining activities take place and who are impacted by mining. Other aspects of the Act include stringent reporting requirements & environmental standards as well as compliance with local content demands and community development agreements which
are formal, obligatory, well-structured and negotiated with communities and which replace the current
voluntary CSR programmes.

In readiness to implement the new Mining Act 2016, the Ministry of Mining has developed a set of 16 Draft Regulations aimed at giving effect and operationalizing the Act. The Constitution of Kenya 2010 makes it mandatory to conduct public participation. Public Participation is also consistent with the need and importance of enhancing confidence, strengthening productive engagement and genuine partnerships with industry and other stakeholders. In view of these, the Ministry of Mining has embarked on series of stakeholder sensitization workshops on the 16 Draft Regulations not only to create awareness but also to avail the stakeholders an opportunity to contribute and provide input into these regulations. This will be beneficial to both the stakeholders and the government in various ways including:

• I. Empowering stakeholders to shape the legislative, regulatory and policy agenda for the sector by not
  only keeping them informed but also providing useful stakeholder perspectives
• II. Restoring confidence and strengthen genuine partnerships between government and stakeholders
• III. Being aware will empower stakeholders to demand justice, accountability and effective remedies.
• IV. It will help in strengthening community solidarity and support grass-roots advocacy.
• V. It will enable the stakeholders to understand the process clearly enough and to perceive that justice
  has been done, particularly when licences have been cancelled or revoked. This will also provide
  non-restrictive recourse to a fair appeals system without necessarily resorting to cumbersome and
  costly litigation processes hence reducing the number of unnecessary wrangles and court cases.
• VI. Above all the new legal, regulatory and policy framework will ensure a stable, predictable, fair, and
  objective governance architecture hence making Kenya an attractive mining destination.