| [00:00.10] |
From VOA Learning English, |
| [00:02.87] |
this is the Economics Report. |
| [00:05.98] |
Recent discoveries of mineral wealth in Kenya |
| [00:10.13] |
could help add to east Africa's biggest economy. |
| [00:14.30] |
The government also is taking steps |
| [00:17.35] |
to improve the openness of the mining industry. |
| [00:21.66] |
But some citizens are concerned |
| [00:24.93] |
that new mining projects will damage local communities. |
| [00:30.24] |
Mining companies say, the mineral resources |
| [00:33.81] |
could be worth billions of dollar. |
| [00:37.32] |
Local communities say, |
| [00:39.42] |
they hope this will help their economies. |
| [00:42.95] |
And the government has warned companies |
| [00:45.87] |
about making announcements |
| [00:47.98] |
about new resources before they are confirmed. |
| [00:52.65] |
Kenya's Secretary of Mining Najib Balala says |
| [00:56.76] |
the government will ask mining companies for details |
| [01:01.30] |
about their findings before making them public. |
| [01:05.52] |
"Any public announcements by a mining company, |
| [01:09.45] |
we as a government needs to have that notification |
| [01:12.53] |
21 days before their announcements." |
| [01:14.83] |
The discoveries also could upset some communities |
| [01:18.79] |
where big mining projects are planed. |
| [01:22.38] |
One example is the recent discovery of rare minerals |
| [01:27.32] |
in the Mrima Hills in the coast area of kwale. |
| [01:32.87] |
The mining company Cortec reported finding a deposit of |
| [01:38.48] |
more than 600 kilograms of Niobium. |
| [01:43.00] |
The element is used in making steel |
| [01:46.27] |
and metal mixtures called superconducting alloys |
| [01:51.12] |
that allow electric currents to travel very easily. |
| [01:55.14] |
Cortec says the discovery could be worth 50 billion dollars. |
| [02:01.36] |
But a dispute has begun between the company, |
| [02:05.77] |
the government and the local communities. |
| [02:08.53] |
Leaders of the Mijikenda ethnic group which lives near Kenya's coast, |
| [02:16.39] |
say they practise their religion in the Mrima Hills. |
| [02:21.21] |
Joseph Morando is an official of the kaya people |
| [02:26.44] |
who are part of the local ethnic group. |
| [02:29.74] |
He says his people are oppose to mineral mining |
| [02:33.75] |
in the Mrima forest and in the area. |
| [02:38.16] |
He says they are appealing to the government to save the area |
| [02:43.12] |
which is an important part of their history. |
| [02:46.77] |
The area also is listed as a world heritage site |
| [02:52.09] |
by the United Nations cultural agency or UNESCO. |
| [02:57.30] |
The Kenya government has not announced how payments it receives |
| [03:02.77] |
from mining companies called royalties would be used. |
| [03:07.89] |
Mining Secretary Najib Balala is expected to present legislation, |
| [03:13.77] |
proposing that the central government take 70% of mining royalty, |
| [03:20.79] |
local government would receive 25% |
| [03:24.29] |
and local communities would receive 5%. |
| [03:29.54] |
The government says it hopes that reforms |
| [03:32.28] |
in the mining industry will improve openness. |
| [03:35.80] |
Mr Balala says that Kenya canceled 31 mining licences |
| [03:41.81] |
during the first half of this year, |
| [03:44.81] |
because of concerns over the process for receiving a licence to mine. |
| [03:51.63] |
That's this week's Economics Report from VOA Learning English. |
