By Kurgat Marindany
Politician Sankok Teeka recently gave Governor Joseph ole Lenku one-week notice to rescind sand harvesting ban or face stakeholders’ wrath.
Teeka, who did not expound how he intended to unleash the said wrath, noted that the decision by the County Government to ban trade was “ill-informed” and in “bad taste”.
“While as the people of Kajiado believe in new policies to guide mining in the region, there is need to consult the people before taking such disastrous actions. He is being heartless to the plight of thousands of people depending on sand trade,” stated Teeka during a press conference at Kitengela town.
The politician was speaking after meeting with Lee Shee Kee Africa Developers from Hong Kong.
“What I am telling the Governor is, sand business can still go on as the county formulates its rules, laws and regulations. This is a natural resource. Thousands of people who have no other means of income depend on this business to feed their children and educate them,” said Teeka.
Teeka, who has already indicated his interest in the governorship seat in 2022, threatened to mobilize the youth in the county who eke their living from sand harvesting and other stakeholders to demonstrate at the county headquarters at the end of the notice.
Announcing the ban recently Deputy Governor Martine Moshisho said it took effect immediately.He said police had been instructed to arrest drivers and to detain their trucks if found ferrying sand out of Kajiado.
The county collects Sh140 million in sand revenue annually. It has a potential to net Sh240 million annually if sanity is restored in the industry. Sand transporters take 300 trucks each day from Kajiado County to Nairobi and other counties.
Sand harvesters claim the ban will affect construction business in the county as the County Government did not specify if had also banned sand from outside the region.
“Two weeks ago, I convened a meeting with all the stakeholders in the sand industry and we agreed that trucks carrying the commodity from our seasonal rivers should not be over loaded, but they continued to do otherwise,” said Moshisho.
Meanwhile, Governor Lenku has urged sand harvesters in the county to comply with the ultimatum he issued to them. Lenku said failure to comply will force him to stay the three month ban on sand harvesting for a longer period.