Kenya has decided to end the contract with India’s Tata Chemicals at Magadi in Kajiado County, with President William Samoei Ruto accusing the existing arrangement of denying local communities a fair share of the benefits from minerals extracted from their land.“We have made the right decision to end the exploitative and extractive contract for Tata Chemicals in Magadi,” Ruto said.The Kenyan President said the arrangement, which has been in place for nearly 100 years, had failed to deliver adequate benefits to Kenyans, particularly residents of Kajiado.“That era is over,” Ruto said, announcing that the contract would be advertised afresh and opportunities opened up for greater participation.The President also said Kenya would no longer allow a single company to monopolise operations at Magadi at the expense of local communities and the wider economy.Ruto’s announcement signals a push by Nairobi to retain a larger share of the economic value generated from the country’s mineral resources.He said companies securing the new Magadi contracts would be required to establish processing and manufacturing facilities in Kenya rather than exporting raw materials for value addition elsewhere.“We will also not allow the export of raw materials that leaves Kenya with little value while wealth and jobs are created elsewhere,” he said.The new contracts, he said, would have to ensure that Kenya’s minerals create value within the country, generate wealth for Kajiado, provide jobs for young people and stimulate local industries.The announcement could have implications for Tata Chemicals’ long-standing operations at Magadi, where the company has been associated with soda ash production.Kenya’s move reflects a broader emphasis on local value addition and a greater economic return to resource-rich communities.Ruto said the government would seek to ensure that the country’s natural resources translated into jobs, industrial growth and greater prosperity for local communities rather than primarily benefiting companies through the export of raw materials.