Nairobi, July 30 -- The government should approach procurement of global mining companies and developers for Kwale County's Mrima Hill niobium and rare earths project with more transparency.

On Wednesday, I reached out to the Principal Secretary for Mining, Harry Kimtai, for an update on the procurement, and asked him to respond to claims that firms from a powerful country had been surreptitiously allowed to submit bids after the April 21 deadline.

He replied by WhatsApp, but left out the most important detail - the names of the firms on the shortlist. He disclosed only that evaluation and shortlisting of qualified firms had been completed the previous week, that those firms had been notified and invited to submit proposals for the requ...