The Senate has opened the Gold Processing Bill, 2023 to public scrutiny, inviting Kenyans to submit their views on proposed legislation that would create a separate regulatory system for the country’s gold processing industry.
The Bill was introduced in the Senate on September 8, 2026, when it received its First Reading, and has since been assigned to the Standing Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources for consideration.
The committee is required to facilitate public participation and consider the views and recommendations submitted before preparing its report for presentation to the Senate.
The proposed legislation seeks to establish what it says is a dedicated institutional and regulatory framework for gold processing, a sector that currently does not have a central body responsible for managing national standards, international accreditation and the strict monitoring of gold refineries and laboratories.
The Bill proposes to separate gold exploration and processing from the existing Mining Act, Cap. 306, with the aim of creating “a specialized regulatory environment” for the industry.
Under the proposed framework, the gold processing sector would have a dedicated system for regulating and supervising activities involving gold refineries and laboratories.
The Senate Standing Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources said the public participation exercise is being conducted in line with Article 118 of the Constitution and Standing Order 145(5) of the Senate Standing Orders.
“The Standing Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources now invites interested members of the public to submit any representations they may have on the Bill by way of written memoranda,” the notice said.
Members of the public wishing to make submissions can send written memoranda to the Clerk of the Senate by post or deliver them by hand to the Office of the Clerk at Main Parliament Buildings in Nairobi.
The memoranda may also be submitted by email to [email protected], with a copy sent to [email protected].
The deadline for receiving the submissions is October 7, 2026, at 5pm.
The Senate said copies of the Gold Processing Bill, 2023, together with a digest giving a summary of the proposed law and its background, are available on the Parliament website.
The committee will review the views and recommendations received during the public participation exercise before completing its report for consideration by the Senate.