Sand harvesting in Kitui Residents of Mwingi Central in Kitui County have appealed to the government agencies to move with speed and address illegal sand harvesting.
They said continued buck-passing on who should address the menace has hindered the fight against the vice.
Addressing a press conference, the residents said Kitui people are being exploited by sand cartels, as concerned authorities remain silent.
“The national government officials in the respective ministries at the county level have shifted the blame on local administration and security organs on our roads for abating the sand trade,” Mutua Nzavi said.
For a long time, locals in Kitui County have lived with a perennial water scarcity problem.
The construction of sand dams on major seasonal rivers is an effort that has yielded fruits as locals are able to get water for drinking and their livestock from the shallow wells, a great relief to them
“This celebration will, however, be short-lived if the national and county governments do not address the menace,” Nzavi added.
He noted that residents have protested against the sand harvesting because it would take them to yesteryear, when they would trek for hours in search of water.
Musyimi Muli claimed illegal drugs like bang are now easily available in the area thanks to trucks coming from Nairobi and Thika to get sand.
“The area has also been hit by an influx of twilight girls targeting quick cash made by those in the sand business like drivers and loaders,” Muli added.
He added that parents are scared of sending their children to the river in the late hours of the day or at dawn due to the presence of unknown youths working as loaders at night and then spending daylight hours lazing around.
“Other vices that have come with sand business include school-going children doing the loading for a fee. We also have a sanitation problem as over 100 non-locals answer calls from nature in nearby bushes,” Kitalu Mathuva said.
He added that local murram roads built for light vehicles have been destroyed by lorries ferrying sand.
“You will find over twenty 50-tonne trucks plying a particular route for months. During December rains, some roads were out of bounds for small to medium canters that supply goods to local shops,” Mathuva added.