Reports Leo Odera Omolo
A member of Parliament has bitterly complained over what he termed as “exploitation of gold diggers” working for foreign investors prospecting for the precious stones in Nyatike and in the neighboring Migori district.
Nyatike MP Edick Omondi Anyanga further alleged that the gold prospecting companies working in his Nyatike constituency have employed only Chinese workers and not locals. The locals are used only as labors, and yet the all the executive jobs such as clerical and supervision goes to foreigners, mostly Chinese.
The investor using a forty five old prospecting license issued by he government to the late Minister for Economic Planning and development Tom Mboya who was assassinated in1969 must be compelled to pay statutory compulsory salary deductions such as NSSF and other payment due to the government through the Kenya Revenue Authority.
The investors are Mid-Migori and Red rock working in partnership, the angrily MP alleged could be suspected of exporting their gold through Tanzania and thereby evading taxations. “These are big companies which are regularly quoted in London Stock Exchange meaning they are minting million of dollars for the exports of the precious stone from Kenya.”They must be mad to account for every single cent they make out of the sales of gold.
Under the devolution and new system of government which comes to force under the new constitution dispensation, the prospectors are suppose to be accounted for their trade within the County of Migori. The must be forced to be transparent and accountable for their gains, the MP added.
Anyanga said he was disappointed that the bear chest local workers who are made to be toiling for the whole day under the humid weather conditions and also risking death underground are paid only peanuts.
He disclosed that the two foreign companies were currently prospecting for gold in Mikei, Mcalder and in Osiri area of Nyatike constituency. They are also prospecting in Migori district, and most of their staff and top managers are Chinese not Kenyans. Local Kenyans are only engaged in gold digging manual work,
The MP termed this like the “modern day slavery” and we want the government to move in with speed and to make sure that every ounce of gold is accounted for and taxes paid promptly to the revenue authority.”
Manager of the two companies could not be reached for their immediate comments.
Migori County and the neighboring Trans-Mara regions are mineral rich area, but there seemed to be lack of proper arrangement that would ensure the prospectors are operating within the law and adequately paying their taxes due to the revenue.. Suspicion is high that some of the prospectors could be siphoning their products to export through the neighboring Tanzania.
Between the 1930s and 1963 British and South African as well as Australian companies had established full fledged gold and copper mines at Macalder, Masara, Kihancha and Kitere Gold Mines near Rongo. Most of these mineral outlets were later sold to the Commonwealth Development Cooperation {CDC} which for political reasons closed their operations in those areas around 1961 and 1962 mainly for fears that an Independent Kenya could go the Congo way and marred with acts of violence.
Mines shafts in those establishments and facilities were abruptly close down and thousands of workers declared redundant. However, the locals are known to have been carrying on with the gold mining work in the disused mines in primitive manner and ways, which at time carries a lot of risk for the miner’s safety.
Other areas suspected to be have a lot of minerals underneath include Ruri and Gembe Hills in Mbita district, Gwassi Hills,Oyugis and Kihancha regions in Migori and Homa-bay County. Lime and Cements are also sad to be in abundance in Ruri Hills in Lambwe valley. But the government has made little effort to attract foreign and local investors
Ends
Dear Mr Omolo,
Allow me to respond to these reported comments relating to Red Rock Resources plc and Mid Migori Mining Limited. The companies produce no gold whatever; they are at the exploration stage.
The statement that “most of their staff and top managers are Chinese not Kenyans” is one which anyone local would know to be entirely untrue. The companies have no Chinese management or employees, and have not even had any Chinese visitors.
We deplore any irresponsible attempts to whip up racial – or indeed tribal – hatred.
Contrary to the statements that most of their staff and top managers are Chinese not Kenyans” and “local Kenyans are only engaged in gold digging manual work”, we employ nobody gold digging – not even one – and our staff is overwhelmingly Kenyan. The Mid Migori company and the camp are staffed by Kenyan managers at every level and our team on site is formed around a nucleus of skilled Kenyan geologists and other professionals, which is continually growing in strength and expertise as we train and work with the new generation.
Our aim is to develop skills, give qualifications, and provide opportunities to local people. We have nothing to hide, and anyone spending a lot of time locally will know that we neither produce and smuggle gold nor do the other things we are accused of, but try to act as good citizens. We have nothing to hide, and are willing to arrange visits to our camp and facilities to any community leaders or interest groups wanting to see the truth – including our critics.
Andrew Bell
Chairman, Red Rock Resources plc
Director, Mid Migori Mining Ltd.
As a qualified (Masters degree in Mineral Exploration and Economic geology) Kenyan who hails from Migori county, I have laboured to find even a grain of truth or fact in this “report” and have come out with nothing but extremely poorly written wild conjecture. Having taken my time to acquaint myself with the operations of foreign exploratation companies in Kenya in general and Red Rock (reffered to in this post) in particular, I would like to assure readers that almost everything presented in this post is erroneous in fact and presentation.
I urge the author to consult on issues which are of great interest to Kenyans with the seriousness they deserve and avoid the urge to plunge into issues with hidden agenda. If you don’t believe what am saying, just take time and visit the areas mentioned and talk to people. If not, then kindly write on issues with which you are more familiar and therefore more likely to tackle objectively.
Dear Mr Omolo,
Please contact me on kfwatson@bigpond.com so I can give you important information on Red Rock Resources plc and how they are indeed exploiting Kenyans with a rich gold property held now by RRR and past explorers for 28 years without producing more than 900 ozs of gold. Please contact me urgently so we can commence action against Red Rock and Mid Migori to have the project forfeited and given to a company that will develop the property for the benefit of the Kenyan people as well as the mine operator. My cell phone is 61433152152 Or post your phone number on this site. Regards Ken Watson
Red Rock Resources are also planning to use cyanide a dangerous chemical to extract gold from the Mc Calder tailings and refuse to consider more environmentally appropriate extraction methods to recover the gold.
Could you also email me or Fax 61893551899 contact details of the local MPs in Migori County. Thanks Ken
Dear Mr Watson,
For the sake of good order please supply the requested information below.
Have you in the past 3 yrs had any business dealings with Red Rock Resources or Mid Migori Mining?
Rgds,
John Laing
See my posts on Skyscraper – In essence after 20,0000 metres plus of drilling RRR has not produced any geological maps – no cross sections – no long sections – no drill tables – AND NOT A SINGLE ASSAY. RRR management are a total disgrace treating shareholders like mushrooms but still blind fools on LSE and Interactive -the rapidly diminishing Andrew Bell ‘fan club’ are sucked in with his continuous misrepresentations to AIM and to shareholders.
Migori is a mirror image of the El Limon “Lemon” mine in Colombia with no mine plan – no tonnages – no grades – no vein channel sample results – no geological information whatsoever – no process flow sheet – no processing plant information -again as one BB poster aptly described “2011 -The Year of the Mushroom”
In addition AB has not declared his correct shareholding in RGM to the market.
Please advise your connection to RRR and then we can progressively deal with all the things that are wrong with the management of the company
Ken
I have no evidence for anything I’ve written.
Someone has fraudulently posted the above message in my name without my authority. Everything I have posted is the truth and can be substantiated. Presumably a stooge of RRR management.
How anyone can post on my behalf using my email address is incredible and this web site needs to be investigated by the relevant authorities.
Questions for Mr Bell -Kansai Affair
1. Were the announcements prepared by Walsham on behalf of Kansai in your opinion MATERIAL and were they lodged with NEX or any Canadian regulatory agency ?
2. If the announcements were material and not filed with a regulatory agency were they distributed to news wires . If so why ?
3. If the announcements were not material in Canada upon what basis did you consider them material in the UK ?
4. If the announcements were not lodged with any Canadian regulatory agency upon what evidence did you ‘note’ the announcements as reported to AIM on 1st October 2010 ?
5. Did you make any enquiries whatsoever as to IPCM – its domicile –directors –capital –assets –executives ? Do you agree IPCM does not exist?
6. Who from the mythical IPCM did you meet with in a lawyers office ? One meeting as in one email to shareholders or several meetings as noted in another email to a shareholder ?
7. Does Kansai still hold the shares issued by RRR –or if Kansai was not the recipient of those shares –does the recipient still hold the shares. ? If not when were they sold and by whom ?
8. Did you sell RRR shares in the knowledge the Kansai transaction had been rescinded ?
9. Would you agree if IPCM does not exist and there is no records of any announcements to Canadian regulatory authorities it could be concluded that certain parties involved in the matters aforesaid could stand accused of knowingly and deliberately disseminating information which would have a material effect on the share price of RRR ?
I simply require answers – noone is making any accusations –but whilst you and the Board of RRR- and the Nomad- refuse to shed light on this matter you leave me no option other than to seek answers from UK regulators.
All I require from you and the Nomad are answers to which all shareholders of RRR are entitled.
And where is the gutless coward Dr Kokaji who attacks people from the obscurity of a ‘nick’ on the Interactive bulletin board -won’t reveal who he is and then has the temerity to accuse other people of cowardice. Kokaji is the biggest coward of them all and a total fraud who masquerades as an ally of Andrew Bell whilst at the same time stamps his feet like a spoilt child and knifes him in the back with malicious posts on the III board.
Stay tuned Kokaji – Dr indeed – Brutus from now on –
Ken Watson –
Poor old man, poor old man!
After a lifetime of (we assume) energetic activity, now reduced to sitting at his computer all day sending bitter missives about a company he doesn’t own shares in, posting furiously in a little known chat-room in a country he has never visited.
The only advantage for him being that – yes, it is an UNMODERATED chat room, his Holy Grail, and therefore one of the few from which he has not been banned for obscenity and intemperance!
Still obsessed with a company he left when it was a fraction of its current size and the price a third of the current level, and where he didn’t do much anyway.
Meanwhile his proxies busily claiming false qualifications and experience for him in London chatrooms, no doubt at his instigation.
And now he gives lessons in gutlessness, cowardice, and malice! A well-qualified teacher indeed!
Brutus -where can we meet -this ‘old man’ is very keen to meet you personally so we can discuss issues.
Dear Gollum,
I cannot answer for Brutus, but Aristides will deny himself the pleasure of a meeting with the ‘old man’.
Too tricksy. Declarations of friendship not to be believed. Nasty Gollumses.
You [thing]- first it was DNi and you were one million percent WRONG -and you are now holding near worthless RGM shares – HA HA HA — then it was Greenland with iron ore now crashing back to earth EXACTLY as I predicted and the dumbo Kokaji now lauding the execution of a project that has as much hope of ever seeing the light of day as you becoming a leading fashion model. So now the brilliant Andrew Bell whom you so blindly worship is pulling off yet another diversion with the worlds best phosphate deal in the Sudan -playing catch up once again after the smart money has abandoned agricultural commodities with hundreds of phosphate wannabees going broke with not a tonne produced – in similar fashion to all the DNI nickel production – absolute crap when the best sulphide nickel producer in the world with the lowest cost of production can hardly turn a profit. You were WRONG -WRONG WRONG – [!] Now I know you are the greatest idiot investor on the planet always blindly following along behind your master Andrew Bell chasing birds all over the world but never ever getting one in the cage.
RGM — ha ha ha So happy for you -your shares almost worthless and still licking your masters rear-
KEN WATSON STEPS DOWN AS MANAGING DIRECTOR
OF BOTH COMPANIES
· Reflects Wish To Devote His Energies To Developing Resource Gold Pty
· Operating Management Continues Unaffected, Says Chairman
Regency Mines Plc (RGM) and its 30% owned associate Red Rock Mining Plc (RRR), the AIMlisted exploration and mineral investment companies, announced that Mr Ken Watson has resigned with immediate effect from his position as managing director of both companies in order to concentrate on his other activities. Mr Watson, aged 71, has been with both companies since their respective formations in 2004 and 2005.
Commenting today, Mr Andrew Bell, chairman and CEO of both companies, said:
“Ken has decided to step down from the Boards of both companies to concentrate on building up Resource Gold Pty Ltd (RGL) in Perth. This is a promising business where he has specific expertise. In fact, we liked the RGL
business plan and Red Rock took an interest in it. RGL seems now to be taking off and will demand full-time attention. Ken felt he had to make a decision, and he wants to spend his time developing RGL, where he has a substantial interest and which is on his doorstep. Regency and Red Rock necessarily are at corporate level run out of London, so it was a logical choice he made and one we respect.
“After five years of successful endeavour together, we understand his wish to pursue this opportunity and we will always be grateful for his role in establishing both Regency and Red Rock, for his originality of thought, for his
creativity, for his optimism.
“We at Red Rock made an investment in RGL when it was set up and we are delighted that it has developed to the point where its prospects make it a full-time project for one of us.”
The operating management on the major projects of both Regency and Red Rock continues unaffected by Mr Watson’s resignation.
It was rather scathing of me and since I must admit to spending far too much time trying to discredit my former employers. I shan’t go to the grave a bitter man and thus I concede. I apologies to all concerned.
Once again someone has fraudently posted the above posts in my name. Must be hitting your hot button !!
Ken.
Could you please stop this now. I am an investor in rrr. Whatever issues you have is sadly effecting my health. I am a married man with 2 children. I live a modest life, in my modest house. I work very hard, as does my wife to provide for my children. All I want is food on the table, a holiday maybe 2 a year and a few quid in the bank for when the kids go to university. Just things I can give my children that I never had. Just appreciate that your actions via chopped field on iii have consequences. What are your feelings on my plea.
why was comment removed???
And my reply to the post above by an imposter posing as Ken Watson ?
WHO ARE IPCM ?
Hi,
Am a kenyan citizen living in Migori. I would like you to assist me any kind of job in your respective company. I have not gone to any college but have knowlegde in computer.
How can you assist? Kindly reply.
Rgds
Eve
Hi Eve,
Send me your email address to rivatec@bigpond.com and lets discuss.
Regards
Ken
My number is 0718613942
I am from Migori .I am keenly following.
I smell a lawsuit and protests.