One of India’s major chemical companies, Tata Chemicals, has been asked to exit Kenya after the government said it had failed to generate enough benefits for the country.
President William Ruto has asked the company to “pack up and leave”, saying it had been exporting soda ash instead of processing the mineral locally to make glass and chemicals.
Ruto said the government had identified new investors to take over the company’s operations, with an aim to bring more employment and investment for Kenyans.
Tata Chemicals said it respected the government’s decision and remains “committed to constructive engagement through the appropriate legal and regulatory channels to resolve the outstanding matters”.
Ruto made the comments while on a visit to Kajiado county, where Tata Chemicals Magadi’s plant is based.
The company – part of Indian conglomerate Tata Group – operates at Lake Magadi, about 120km (75 miles) southwest of the Kenyan capital Nairobi. It exports more than 350,000 tonnes of soda ash annually, exporting it to markets including India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere in Africa.
Kenya is the world’s fourth largest producer of natural soda ash – the common name for sodium carbonate – accounting for 1% of global production, according to the US Geological Survey.
It is mainly produced from natural brines or the mineral, trona, and is used in glass, chemicals, batteries and other industrial products.
Tata Chemicals is also one of Kenya’s largest mineral exporters and Africa’s biggest soda ash producer.
The company extracts trona from Lake Magadi, and processes it into soda ash, a key ingredient in glassmaking and also used in detergents, chemicals, water treatment, textiles and paper, according to the company website.
Its 2024 accounts reported about 245,000 tonnes of soda-ash sales and $78.7m in turnover.
The company employs about 500 people and says its community programmes benefit roughly 30,000 people around Magadi through water, healthcare, education, infrastructure and other support.
But Ruto said the company was not doing enough for Kenya and accused it of taking the country’s resources abroad.
“Tata Chemicals Magadi has had a contract for 100 years, and they have done nothing. I told them the other day to pack up and leave,” he said in Swahili.
“They have not built anything in Kajiado, they have not built any factory in Kajiado.”
In a statement, Tata Chemicals said that since it acquired the plant in Magadi in 2005, “it has played an important role in the Kenyan economy and continues to be an integral part of our business”.
Ruto’s comments come five weeks after Kenya’s mining minister directed Tata Chemicals Magadi to suspend operations, reportedly citing its failure to make royalty payments and meet other regulatory requirements.
The company said that it has “provided a comprehensive response to the matters raised by the ministry, including information regarding its compliance with applicable regulatory requirements”.
It said it was now awaiting a review of its submissions and further direction.
The factory’s history at Lake Magadi dates back to 1911, with a major mining lease signed with the Kenyan government in 1928.
Tata Chemicals took over the operation in 2005 when it acquired UK-based Brunner Mond Group.
