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Kanungu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Security and environment officials in Kanungu district have lifted a ban on sand mining activities but after issuing of tough regulations for miners to comply with.
Sand mining in the district was banned early this month, following the death of two people in Kiruruma sand quarry, Kihihi sub-county and Kanyamisinga sand quarry in Katete sub-county.
At Kiruruma sand quarry, a 37-year-old Ben Tibenderana a resident of Buhumuriro village in Nyakinoni Sub County was buried alive on 2nd this month. Earlier on 15th March, Rodney Aturinda, 17, a senior two student of Bright Future Secondary School Kihihi died on the spot after a sand quarry collapsed and buried him alive as he was loading a tipper lorry together with other five people. The five sustained injuries at Kanyamishanga village sand quarry in Katete sub-county.
The closure of sand mining sparked anger among sand miners and lorry drivers who accused security of suffocating their source of income.
Speaking to our reporter on Friday morning, Gad Rugaaju Ahimbisibwe, Kanungu Deputy Resident District Commissioner confirmed that security has cleared sand mining activities to resume in the district following a long security meeting on Thursday evening.
Rugaaju says that the clearance follows a physical assessment on all sand quarries in the district by a team of security officials led by Hajj Shafiq Ssekandi SSengoba, Kanungu Resident District Commissioner, Julius Tugumenawe, District Police Commander, George Agaba , the acting District Natural Resource Officer, and Shibah Arineitwe, District Environment Officer.
Rugaaju says that officials have however instituted conditions on sand mining which include banning minors (18 years and below) from accessing sand quarries.Besides the age limit, mining shall only take place from 07:00 am to 06:00 PM; site owners must erect main gates and employ security guards to monitor and record vehicles on entry.
In addition, all miners must always have on protective gears like gloves, helmets, and gumboots while in sand quarries as well as ensuring that no miners access sand quarries while under the influence of drugs and alcohol like it has been before.
Tuhumenawe says that site owners have been directed to restore all degraded sites by filling up all open holes and plant stabilizer trees to limit negative scenarios like breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
He also says that site owners have been ordered to register and form an association with a valid constitution to guide them.
Benon Nsaba, Bannet Mwesigwa and Charles Turyasingura all sand minders at Kiruruma sand quarry say however, that much as some directives are not favorable, they have no option but to obey security and environment officials.
They say that some directives like employing security guards at the site have a negative cost impact yet sand is sold at cheap price.They say that a truck of sand at Kiruruma sand quarry is sold at shillings 13,000 where the site owner pockets shillings 5,000, miners shillings 5000, and loaders shillings 3000.
Friday Mubangizi, the head of drivers and Denis Nganize, a site owner and Umar Mbonigaba, a loader at Katete sand quarry say that the truck of sand is sold at 5,000 shillings with loaders being paid 2,000 shillings, miners 2,000 shillings and the site owner 1,000 shillings .
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