US seeks Kenya partnership amid Tata row

US President Donald Trump’s administration has backed Kenya’s new regulation, which requires foreign companies to process minerals locally instead of exporting them raw, reports the Kenyans. US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia said American companies were ready to partner with Kenya in processing its minerals locally while creating jobs for residents. ‘American companies are not here to extract and ship. That is not partnership, that is extraction,’ Garcia told the American Chamber of Commerce Business Summit in Nairobi. His remarks come as President William Ruto’s administration is pushing for local processing of the country’s minerals, including soda ash from Lake Magadi in Kajiado County. The move comes amid an ongoing government dispute with India’s Tata Chemicals over its Lake Magadi operations, with Ruto criticising the company’s extraction of soda ash, arguing that Kenya has not benefitted enough from the firm’s existence in the country. Ruto subsequently ordered Tata Chemicals to exit the country, accusing it of economic exploitation.