Kenyan President William Ruto has ordered India’s Tata Chemicals to end its operations in Kenya, escalating a dispute over the company’s long-running exploitation of soda ash resources at Lake Magadi in Kajiado County.

Ruto said the government had decided to remove Tata Chemicals because its presence had not delivered sufficient economic benefits to the local community. He criticized the company for holding a contract that has lasted for about a century while, in his view, failing to establish adequate manufacturing facilities, infrastructure and employment opportunities in Kajiado.

The order follows a government directive issued in July that suspended Tata Chemicals Magadi’s mining operations and halted exports of soda ash from the Magadi facility. Tata Chemicals subsequently confirmed that its mining activities had remained suspended since July 28 while it complied with the government directive and awaited further instructions from Kenya’s Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs.

Tata Chemicals has operated at Lake Magadi since 1911 and describes its Kenyan business as one of Africa’s major producers and exporters of natural soda ash, a chemical widely used in industries including glass manufacturing, detergents and other industrial applications.

Ruto said Kenya intends to replace Tata Chemicals with two new companies. One would be expected to establish a large glass-manufacturing operation in Kajiado, while another would produce chemicals locally. The government’s stated objective is to ensure that more of the value generated from Kenya’s natural resources remains within the country.

The decision could have significant implications for workers, local businesses and Kenya’s soda ash supply chain, while also raising questions about the future of foreign investment in the country’s mining and natural-resource sectors.

Tata Chemicals had not immediately issued a response to Ruto’s latest announcement, according to Reuters.

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