RIVERS THREATENED AS SAND HARVESTING
BECOMES A NORM IN LOWER EASTERN REGION.
Ukambani region
especially Machakos and Makueni Counties continue to face adverse consequences
of illegal sand harvesting. Its proximity to rapidly expanding major towns of Nairobi, Athi
River, Thika and Machakos make it vulnerable to sand harvesting which has
caused advance environmental degradation on river beds, rivers banks and
farm lands as the sand dealers and brokers’ transverse the region with absolute
impunity.
Sand harvesting effects
As the wrath of
sand harvestings menaces continues, sand rivers are losing their grip to hold
water for the sole reason that the sand particle forms the aquifer which holds
the water and makes it available for the community members for domestic and
Agricultural uses. Moreover this uncoordinated/Uncontrolled sand harvesting causes soil
erosion because as the sand is being excavated the soil particles becomes loose
and are thereby susceptible to erosion by agents of soil erosion. Sand trucks
are too heavy for the rural feeder roads and as they move about the make the
soil particles loose making them to be eroded too. Infrastructures have been
destroyed due to the sand harvesting booming business, roads and bridges are
the major casualties. In Ukambani some roads have been rendered impassable
because sand has been scooped either by leaving the roads very thin or having
potholes which make it dangerous to drive; worse still sand has been harvested
beneath bridges resulting in to possible breakage of bridges with possible
catastrophic consequences 
Sand harvesting
evils no barrier, in many areas notably Kathama location, Mbiuni Location,
Kathiani and Masinga in Machakos and Mukaa and Kibwezi East and Kibwezi west,
menaces have gone beyond natural environment to human conflicts and livelihood
destructions. Youths armed with crude weapons have invaded in to private farms
to scoop sand, at times the situation has become lethal leading to injuries and
deaths of people protecting their God given resources. Majority of resident of
Ukambani are small scale subsistence farmers and destruction of water catchments
through sand harvesting renders the community in a vicious chain of poverty and
dependency.
Dwindling Education levels
Sand harvesting
makes use of cheap unskilled labour provided by unemployed youth and school
students who are driven in to the trade by desperation and pangs of hunger.
This has resulted into school going youth missing school to participate in the
trade. Lack of regulation and greedy by the sand harvesting cartels create a loophole
whereby pupils and student take cheaper option of making cash rather than
concentrating in to their studies. Continued missing of classes coupled with
desire for financial independency make schooling lesser rewarding option hence
school dropout phenomenon
County efforts
Both Makueni and
Machakos counties come to power with promise to regulate the sand trade and
ensure citizenry of the counties reap the benefits of sand as a resource from
the counties. Both counties did pass an act through their legislative wing for
regulate the trade with keen emphasis on water provision. However the two
gazzetted acts remain moribund and it
appears sand harvesting cartels knows which baton to press at what time, what
makes it so difficult for the counties to implement the act?. With massive sand
harvesting within the region the efforts by County government and other
stakeholders construct water harvesting structures lacks clarity and vision;
why built more when the little is being stolen with impunity?
Muendo Nyamu
Human rights and Environmental activist
Project officer Inades Formation Kenya
http//:andrewnyamuconservation.blogspot.co.ke
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