Industrialization Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina told parliament that dealers will have to wait longer to know when the moratorium on the export or buying and selling of any scrap metal will be lifted.
The scrap metals ban issued by the president early this year in January to be addressed by public and private sector players this Tuesday.
The move has seen scrap metal dealers hard hit by the directive with prices of steel household and industrial wares spiking.
Ms Maina said the ministry will meet critical infrastructure players like Kenya Power, Kenya Electricity Transmission Company and Kenya Railways as well as private sector dealers in scrap metal to scrutinize guidelines that have been developed in regulating scrap metal sector.
Ms Maina revealed that out of over 700 scrap metal dealers in the country, only 20 were licensed under the Scrap Metal Act at the time of the moratorium.
“There isn’t a date set for lifting of the moratorium but it will be announced at the highest level depending on the outcome of the meeting called between public institutions handling critical infrastructure and the private sector players dealing with scrap metal,” Ms. Maina told the Trade committee of the National Assembly.
Industrialization Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina
She added that up to 91 scrap metal dealers are yet to be licensed as their applications are undergoing rigorous review before a decision can be made.
Although bothered that up to 700 scrap metal dealers can be mapped out from transporters and smelters yet the response for licensing is quite low.
The president imposed the ban on exports and dealings in scrap metal in January due to the noticeable vandalism of transmission lines, critical road and rail lines.
Urging the set up of proper guidelines in place to regulate sector in order to ensure material traded is not coming from the hard-won investments that the Kenyan people have made.
“The Scrap Metal Council and a multi-agency team (MAT) that was formed following vandalism of critical infrastructure have developed operational guidelines to advise the president on the ban,” she said.
