Manga: Long before the hum of machinery settled over Manga at Voi sub county, the red earth of Taita Taveta had told a quieter story: extraction of mineral deposits carted away in raw form, with minute impact to show on the ground. Today, that narrative is gradually shifting.
According to Kenya News Agency, rising near the mineral-rich belt of Kishushe, the iron ore processing plant by Devki Group has become more than just an industrial installation. It is increasingly viewed as a symbol of a slow but deliberate transition from extraction to value addition, and from exclusion to participation.
When President William Ruto presided over its commissioning, he framed the project within a broader national ambition: to grow manufacturing into a central pillar of Kenya’s economy. The target, to raise the sector’s contribution to GDP to 15 per cent by 2027, placed projects like the Manga iron ore plant at the heart of that vision.
For a region historically defined by artisanal mining and periodic disputes, the plant represents something more immediate: proximity to opportunity. Taita Taveta Governor, Andrew Mwadime, said during the groundbreaking of the Manga plant that the project marked a turning point for the region, noting, ‘This is where the difference begins. For the first time, the resource and the industry are in the same place.’
The plant, valued at about Sh11 billion, is designed to process iron ore into inputs for steel production, cutting down the need to export raw materials and import finished products at a higher cost. In practical terms, that shift could ripple far beyond mining, feeding into construction, manufacturing, and infrastructure development.
Devki Group Chairman, Narendra Raval, has previously described the investment as one anchored on both industry and community, noting its potential to generate thousands of jobs directly and indirectly. But in Kishushe and surrounding areas, the impact is measured less in projections and more in possibility.
For decades, mining here has been both a blessing and a constant source of friction. Gemstones like ruby and tsavorite drew prospectors as early as the 2010s, but disputes over access, compensation, and ownership often overshadowed the benefits. Now, with a ready market for iron ore just kilometres away, expectations are shifting.
‘We have seen minerals leave this place for years,’ says Mwashimba Mghanga, a resident of Kishushe. ‘What people want now is to see those minerals change lives here at home.’ That sentiment is echoed in recent efforts to organise the sector more deliberately. The formation of a Community Development Agreement Committee (CDAC) linked to Samrudha mining company is one such step, intended to ensure communities receive a legally mandated share of mining proceeds.
County Executive Committee Member for Lands, Christina Zighe, views these structures as complementary to investments like the Manga plant. ‘You cannot talk about value addition without also talking about community benefit,’ she says. ‘The two must move together.’
At the policy level, the national government has in recent years tightened oversight of mining operations: closing illegal sites, enforcing licensing requirements and pushing for community consent frameworks. These interventions are aimed at addressing long-standing governance gaps that once fueled conflict.
The result is an emerging ecosystem: regulation on one end, industrial investment on the other, and community structures in between. Experts say this alignment is critical. Processing minerals locally not only increases their value but also creates linkages across the economy: transporters moving ore, small businesses supplying goods and services, and workers spending wages within local markets.
In Taita Taveta, a county spanning more than 17,000 square kilometres, such linkages could redefine the local economy if sustained. Back in Manga, the plant stands as a physical marker of that possibility; steel and machinery rooted in what was once just a source of raw extraction.
Whether it ultimately fulfils its promise will depend on more than output figures. It will rest on how well industry, government, and community remain aligned. For now, though, the shift is visible. Not just in the plant itself, but in the growing belief that the Coast’s mineral wealth may finally begin to work for the people who live above it.
