NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 3 — Members of Parliament allied to the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) have accused President William Ruto of using regulatory concerns as a pretext to push Tata Chemicals out of Lake Magadi, alleging that the government is targeting potentially lucrative lithium and oil deposits in the area.The MPs demanded the “immediate and unconditional” reversal of the suspension of Tata Chemicals Magadi, warning that the shutdown threatens jobs, local livelihoods and essential services in Magadi.In a statement issued as Ruto toured Kajiado County, the MPs dismissed the government’s compliance and licensing concerns as a “decoy” and alleged that the real issue was the potential value of mineral and petroleum resources in the Magadi area.“The flimsy excuses given are just a decoy; the truth of the matter is, there are huge deposits worth trillions of shillings of LITHIUM metals underneath the Magadi area. Further, there are huge oil prospects in the same vicinity within which TATA Chemicals Limited operates,” the MPs said.They accused Ruto of pursuing Kenya’s natural resources for personal interests, making a series of allegations concerning resource projects in different parts of the country.“Kenya’s Natural resources cannot be individualized to your personal interests,” they said, alleging that the President had previously been involved in interests surrounding oil in Turkana and mineral exploration in Shimba Hills, Laikipia, Narok and Kakamega.The MPs also alleged that Ruto was seeking to force Tata Chemicals out of Magadi to bring in new investors, including what they described as his “Gulf energy associates”, to pursue oil exploration.“Mr. William Ruto, in his unsatiable appetite for material wealth, wants to create a crisis by throwing out Tata Chemicals or getting a majority of shareholding, bring in his Gulf energy associates to do oil exploration and cash away with the fortune,” they said.The allegations have not been independently substantiated.The DCP lawmakers said the suspension had put the livelihoods of more than 100,000 people in and around Magadi at risk, while directly affecting hundreds of workers employed by the company.They said the closure would result in the loss of more than 500 direct jobs and thousands of jobs among support workers.“The closure of Tata Chemical will result in unprecedented job losses,” the MPs said, accusing the government of rendering workers jobless “overnight through this closure.”The lawmakers also argued that Tata’s presence has historically supported infrastructure, healthcare, water supplies, schools and other services in Magadi through its corporate social responsibility programmes.They warned that shutting the facility could deepen an existing water crisis in the area, saying residents who had relied on water supplied through Tata’s operations could be left without a reliable alternative.The MPs further raised concerns over the impact of the shutdown on Nairobi’s water treatment, claiming that Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company requires an average of 360 tonnes of soda ash every month.They questioned where the utility would obtain the supply if Tata’s operations remained closed.The MPs’ accusations come after Ruto publicly said he had ordered Tata to leave the area, accusing the company of extracting Lake Magadi’s resources for more than a century without doing enough to create jobs or establish industries locally.Speaking in Kajiado on Thursday, Ruto said Lake Magadi was a major resource capable of transforming the county and Kenya.“That Tata company has had the contract for 100 years, yet it has not built anything in Kajiado. It has not established a factory here, and it has not employed our people. The other day, I told them to pack their bags and leave,” Ruto said.The President accused the company of taking Kenya’s wealth to India and other markets without providing sufficient economic benefits to residents.“Do we understand each other or not? These people should leave, my friends. They come here, take our wealth and resources, and ship them to India and elsewhere,” he said.Ruto said any new company taking over the resource would be required to establish manufacturing facilities in Kajiado, including factories for glass and chemicals.“We have said that we will bring in a new company, but the conditions for that company will be clear: it must establish a large factory to manufacture glass here in Kajiado County and another facility to manufacture chemicals here,” he said.The President framed the move as part of a push to ensure Kenyans derive greater value from the country’s natural resources through local processing, manufacturing and job creation.“Are we the servants of other people? Should we not build Kajiado ourselves?” he asked.Mining operations suspendedTata Chemicals Magadi’s mining operations were suspended from July 28 following a directive by the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs over compliance and licensing concerns.Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho said the ministry had attempted to engage the company over its compliance obligations for years but that it had remained non-compliant.The suspension has since become the subject of a legal dispute, with the High Court scheduled to hear on November 18 a petition challenging the possible resumption of mining operations at Lake Magadi.Tata Chemicals Magadi, formerly known as the Magadi Soda Company, has operated at Lake Magadi since 1911 and became part of Tata Chemicals in 2005.The company extracts trona from Lake Magadi and processes it into natural soda ash, or sodium carbonate, which is used in the manufacture of glass, detergents, and chemicals as well as in water treatment.It has been one of Kenya’s major exporters, with annual shipments reported at more than 350,000 tonnes to markets including Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East.