Kenyan President William Ruto has ordered India's Tata Chemicals to halt its operations in the country, saying the company's decades-long presence had
Kenyan President William Ruto has ordered India’s Tata Chemicals to halt its operations in the country, saying the company’s decades-long presence had failed to deliver meaningful benefits to Kenya.
Speaking during a visit to Magadi, a township in Kajiado County in southern Kenya, Ruto said Tata had held its contract for the area for 100 years without building any factory or infrastructure there.
The president said the government would bring in two new companies to take over Tata’s operations, with plans to establish a glass-making plant and a chemicals factory in Kajiado.
The directive follows an order from Kenya’s mining ministry in late July that had already forced Tata Chemicals’ local unit to suspend operations at the Magadi Soda factory, along with a halt to soda ash exports.
Responding to Ruto’s latest remarks, Tata Chemicals said it respects the authority of the Kenyan government and remains committed to resolving outstanding issues through the appropriate legal and regulatory channels, adding that it has provided a comprehensive response to the concerns raised by the ministry, including information on its regulatory compliance.
The move comes as Ruto, who is seeking reelection next year, sharpens a campaign message centred on industrialisation and local wealth creation, and as his government moves to restrict small-scale retail and hawking to Kenyan citizens, with authorities set to begin shutting down foreign-owned businesses in that sector from September 7.
Tata Chemicals said its priority remains the well-being of its employees, the Magadi community and Kenya’s continued economic development, though it is unclear how the standoff over the century-old operation will ultimately be resolved.
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