Stakeholders and environmentalists in Kajiado County have called for the enactment of laws to regulate sand harvesting.
Speaking in Kajiado town during a public participation forum, the stakeholders noted that unregulated sand harvesting over the years had resulted in serious environmental degradation and that there was an urgent need to control it so as to minimise the negative effects.
According to Kajiado Youth Senate Representative Gideon Toimasi, sand harvesting in Kajiado was a ticking time bomb, and there was a need for swift enactment of legislation to regulate the sector.
He noted that the region had experienced the effects of environmental impacts, including riverbank degradation, soil erosion, destruction of wildlife habitat, biodiversity loss, sedimentation of seasonal rivers, and drying up of tributaries.
“As much as we are earning from sand harvesting, there is a need to regulate the sector so as to protect the environment for posterity and ensure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources,” he said.
Toimasi added that apart from the negative effects on the environment, drugs, substance abuse, and child labour were on the rise as many young boys were dropping out of school to work as sand loaders.
The Youth Senate representative revealed that they had petitioned the County Assembly to pass the Kajiado County Sand Harvesting and Quarry Bill 2020, which would ensure the regulation of sand harvesting in the county.
He said once the laws are enacted, the sector will benefit all stakeholders, including the sand harvesters and loaders, who are often exploited by middlemen.
“Once the bill is passed by the Assembly, all parties will benefit fully from it, and there will be no more exploitation by rogue sand dealers. There will be regulations on how the community can harvest sand while protecting the environment,” Toimasi remarked.
Rashid Muzee, an environmental activist, echoed Toimasi’s remarks, adding that many families relied on sand harvesting as a source of income but did not fully benefit from it due to exploitation by middlemen and sand dealers.
Muzee said the regulation of sand harvesting would ensure that all those who work in the sector benefit fully and that the county government also collects revenue which could be directed to development.
Moses Kikayaya, a sand loader from Ilodokilani, reiterated that the sand loaders and harvesters were being exploited by the sand dealers as they were paid low wages.
“A lorry of sand fetches up to Sh30,000, but the sand harvesters are paid only Sh13,000. This is quite low and exploitative, as it takes a lot of men to fill up the truck,” he said.
Kikayaya further revealed that many rivers in the area had dried up and sand had depleted due to overharvesting.
He called for the urgent enactment of laws regulating sand harvesting in the county so as to protect the natural resources and the environment for future generations.
By Rop Janet
