President William Ruto has announced plans to bring in a new investor to take over soda ash mining at Lake Magadi in Kajiado County, accusing current operator Tata Chemicals of failing to modernize the plant, create enough jobs or deliver sufficient economic benefits to Kenyans.
Speaking in Rombo, Kajiado South, on Thursday, Ruto said the government would seek an investor capable of upgrading the facility, expanding local processing and creating more employment opportunities.
“It is unfair for one company to dominate the ownership and operations of Magadi Soda for years, yet it has done little to improve the factory or create employment opportunities for our youth,” Ruto said.
“Because they have been unable to do anything meaningful with the plant for more than 100 years, I have directed them to pack up and go.”
The announcement follows the suspension of Tata Chemicals’ mining operations by the Ministry of Mining in July 2026 over concerns relating to regulatory compliance, licensing and value addition.
The ministry also ordered the closure of the company’s depot in Kajiado Town over alleged breaches of environmental regulations.
Tata Chemicals has also been locked in a dispute with the Kajiado County Government over land rates following the expiry of its operating license in 2023.
Lake Magadi is one of Kenya’s most important mineral-producing areas and hosts Africa’s largest soda ash operation.
Soda ash, also known as sodium carbonate, is widely used in the manufacture of glass, detergents, soaps and other industrial products.
Ruto said the government wants more of the mineral processed locally rather than exported in its raw or semi-processed form, arguing that greater value addition would create jobs and increase returns to the economy.
He said the next investor would be expected to modernize the plant, increase local processing and ensure communities around Magadi benefit more directly from the resource.
During the Kajiado tour, Ruto also addressed the delayed transfer of Amboseli National Park to the county government, saying the process had been held up by a court case.
He nevertheless maintained that the park would be fully transferred to Kajiado before the end of the year.
“I want to assure the people of Kajiado that, before the end of this year, Amboseli will be fully in the hands of Kajiado County,” he said.
The President also inspected and commissioned several infrastructure projects across the county.
Among them was the Sh9.4 billion, 67-kilometre Illasit-Rombo-Chala-Njukini-Taveta road, which the government said is 48 per cent complete.
He also commissioned the Sh221 million Rombo Clusters Irrigation Development Project and the Sh2.7 billion Sultan Hamud-Loitoktok transmission line and Loitoktok substation.
Ruto inspected affordable housing projects in Loitoktok and Kajiado Town, student hostels at the Maasai National Polytechnic and Kenya Medical Training College, as well as modern markets in Kimana and Namanga.
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