Locals fury as Makueni opens old wound in sand mining
A section of Makueni county residents and conservationists are up in arms after the county government opened up some earth dams and rivers for commercial sand mining as governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior’s administration eyes Sh47 million in taxes from the building material to fund its Sh11 billion budget for the 2024/2025 financial year.
This marks the end of a 10-year lull on commercial sand harvesting in the county.
In navigating the thin line between sand conservation and utilisation, the county government rides on class differences between youthful sand loaders who eke a living from the economic activity and the rest of the community who feel sand harvesting portends aggravated water scarcity in the region.
“We will not allow any commercial sand harvesting in the region until a proper public participation is conducted, all and every information [about the commercial sand harvesting] shared, and the views and environmental rights and aspirations of the people of Kiimakiu/Kalanzoni Ward taken into account,” reads a petition by a section of Kiimakiu/Kalanzoni Ward residents. It is signed by David Kioko, Paul Mwololo, and Shadrack Nzioka. Commercial sand harvesting entails opening up dams and rivers to sand miners.
The petition has, however, not cowed the county government from sanctioning commercial sand harvesting in the ward. Mr Kilonzo Jnr confirmed that commercial sand harvesting was underway at Kilombo Dam in the ward.
“At no point have we sanctioned commercial sand harvesting in Ndovoini or that river near Kalawani Township; only for local use. In Kilombo, we are desilting the dam hence the move to allow commercial sand harvesting. We need to desilt it before the onset of the short rains,” Mr Kilonzo Jnr told the Nation in a statement.
The governor spoke on the day Makueni County Sand Conservation and Utilisation Authority the county agency tasked with managing sand, banned its harvesting at River Ndovoini, a day after county government officials opened it up for commercial sand harvesting, amid intense outcry from the community.
Urbanus Ndunda, the acting Sand Authority managing director announced a meeting on Thursday to address reports of sand smuggling .
The Sand Authority says sand miners are bound by sand harvesting rules contained in the Makueni Sand Conservation and Utilisation Act, 2015.
The rules include a ban on sand harvesting and transportation at nigh. The assurance notwithstanding, the county government has not secured a widespread buy in as it moves to strike a delicate balance between sand conservation and utilization. The misgivings are partly informed by deep seated concerns over transparency and accountability after graft claims shrouded a previous attempt at opening earth dams for commercial sand harvesting last year.
This is the crux of the petition against commercial sand harvesting which calls on Mr Kilonzo Jnr to act.
In leaked documents seen by the Nation, Mr Kilonzo Jnr has directed his Environment and Climate Change Executive Nicholas Nzioka to explain the circumstances under which a Makueni Assembly committee exonerated Kiimakiu /Kalanzoni MCA Justus Mwanzia, the then Makueni Sand Authority managing director Phillip Nzei and the then Environment and Climate Change Executive Sonnia Nzilani after they were implicated in questionable sand deals.
On his part, Mr Nzioka has passed the baton to Mr Ndunda. The Makueni County Assembly Environment committee chaired by Mukaa MCA Joseph Muema was reportedly unable to tell how much sand miners had harvested as there were no records of transactions available. Mr Kilonzo Jr has since transferred Mr Nzei and Ms Nzilani. “We are fixing the Sand Authority and reclaiming it’s lost glory,” Makueni Environment and Climate Change Executive Nicholas Nzioka told the Nation.
“Wanton sand harvesting is courting death since water is life. Some neighbouring communities travel long distances for water in our area because uncontrolled sand harvesting has depleted their rivers,” said Rabecca Nzisa, a teacher who grows assorted vegetables along River Kaiti.
The venture is hinged on Kwa Matungu Sand Dam. According to conservationists, the dozens of sand dams across rivers in the region have restored the rivers and thrown a lifeline to riparian communities by addressing water shortage and food security.
Makueni Water Executive John Kieti says sand dams constructed across River Kaiti provide more than 70 per cent of the water needed at Wote Town, the county headquarters.
“It can take us one season of wanton sand harvesting to reverse a decade of sand conservation,” said Tangai Munari, a sand conservationist.
In 2014, the then Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana drew the wrath of sand miners, merchants and transporters by banning the lucrative trade after residents decried environmental degradation, moral decay and lawlessness associated with commercial sand harvesting in area rivers.
The ensuing confrontation led to injuries, destruction of government vehicles and deaths, including that of Geoffrey Kasyoki, a vocal Makueni police officer who openly championed sand conservation.
At least six suspected sand merchants have fled their homes around Kasikeu Township, which was a major flashpoint of the skirmishes associated with wanton sand harvesting and trade.
It took the enacting and implementation of the Makueni sand law in 2015 for sand merchants to relent and eventually surrender.
The sand law creates the sand agency which is charged with enacting the sand law. It has an elaborate formula which spells out how proceeds of sand should be equitably distributed.
The law has earned the county praise at the United Nations Environmental Programme for fostering environmental conservation.
Thanks to the law, many rivers crisscrossing the region, which had turned into canyons due to wanton sand mining, have since recovered significantly.
This has spawned multiple farming ventures along the rivers that were once battlefields between hirelings of sand dealers against sand conservationists and riparian communities as authorities looked the other way.
mukusyamaundu@gmail.com
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