President William Ruto during a thanksgiving service in South Horr, Samburu County, on September 6, 2026./PCS
President William Ruto has directed his administration to move away from the export of raw materials, saying Kenya must process its mineral resources locally to create jobs and increase the value generated from the country’s natural wealth.
Speaking during a thanksgiving service in South Horr, Samburu County, on Sunday, Ruto said the government was exploring ways to ensure minerals extracted in Kenya are processed locally before being exported.
He cited gold, limestone, iron ore, graphite, titanium and soda ash among the minerals that could be processed within the country.
The President said the move would create employment for young people while increasing the value of Kenya’s exports.
“Going into the future, our position as the government. Whether we are talking about Magadi Soda or oil or all our minerals we have taken the decision that we will no longer export raw materials. We are going to process all minerals available in Kenya,” he said.
Ruto said the government would work with investors to establish processing facilities and expand value addition in the mining and extractive sectors.
He pointed to plans involving the Nigerian business magnet Aliko Dangote, saying partnerships were being pursued to establish an oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Lamu.
“It is the reason why we are working with Dangote to have an oil refinery in Lamu and working with others to have gold refineries because it is imprudent for any government to export raw materials, create jobs and value in other countries while we have a big population of young people who need jobs and whose value on adding to our products can make a big difference in our country,” he said.
The President also defended the government’s decision to remove Tata Chemicals Limited from operations at Lake Magadi in Kajiado County.
Ruto argued that Kenya had not been receiving sufficient value from the company’s operations, claiming that raw materials were being exported while processed products were brought back into the country.
“We want to give five, six or even 10 companies an opportunity to use the resources there to create jobs, value, create wealth and reduce poverty,” he said.
Tata Chemicals has operated at Lake Magadi for more than a century. Its operations in Kenya date back to 1911, when the Magadi Soda Company began extracting trona from the lake.
Its mining operations were suspended from July 28, 2026, following a directive from the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs over compliance and licensing issues.
Ruto said opening up the sector to more investors would allow Kenya to extract greater economic value from its natural resources while expanding employment opportunities and reducing poverty.
