Kitui governor Charity Ngilu has pleaded with President Uhuru Kenyatta to help the county get market for its mineral resources.
Ngilu says that Kitui is blessed with minerals but lacks exploration technics and market.
Speaking when she met with official's from the Ministry of Mining at her county offices on Friday, the governor asked President Kenyatta to chip in and help market the county as a minerals hub.
She said that poverty will be a thing of the past if the county’s mineral resource is well explored.
Ngilu said that she has reached out to several local and foreign investors to help in exploration.
“We have minerals like coal, iron core, copper deposits, and limestone but we lack technics and exploration expertise,” she said.
The county boss also advised residents not to sell their land and instead help in identifying areas with rich minerals.
She further cautioned residents against being duped by unscrupulous businessmen who are hunting for their land for mineral exploration and pledged to ensure the county’s resources are explored and evenly distributed among the residents.
Kitui is among areas across the country that boasts of rich mineral resource and has been dubbed a mining hub.
The county’s mining areas with rich mineral deposits include Ngaie in Kitui North which is rich in limestone and Mui-basin that is known to have coal deposits.