Kenyan President William Ruto has made clear that India’s well-known Tata Chemicals will no longer be allowed to operate in the country.
Despite doing business at Lake Magadi for more than a century, the company has done virtually nothing for the region’s development, Ruto said. Visibly frustrated, the president has ordered the company to pack up and leave the country quickly.
In bidding farewell to the longstanding company, the government has made a bold move to change the fortunes of Kenya’s people through its mineral resources. Ruto said two new companies are being brought in to replace Tata, aiming to expand local mineral processing so as to create substantial employment for Kenyan youth and benefit the country economically.
The Tata Group subsidiary had been operating at Lake Magadi, not far from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. It produced more than 350,000 tonnes of soda ash annually, exporting it to India, the Middle East and various African countries. But last July, the Kenyan government halted its operations, accusing the company of violating Kenyan law.
Tata’s management maintained it had complied with all regulations, but the Ruto government did not relent. With the government standing firm on its decision, roughly 500 employees of the company and their families have suddenly been left facing uncertainty.
Few could have imagined that this century-old business, which began at Lake Magadi back in 1911, would come to such a dramatic end.