Nema to inspect sand mining sites

“We have tried to play our part as Nema, but  some unscrupulous individuals and companies have continued to operate sand mining sites illegally. To address this , our team will now be conducting on-spot inspection to assess  compliance and those found operating illegally will definitely be closed,” he said in an interview last week   

In 2015, the government   issued guidelines to sand miners and banned them from leaving excavated pits open.

All sand truck drivers are  required  to cover sand with tarpaulins and the sand must be dry because wet sand destroys road marks.  

The trucks also have to register with Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) and be weighed at the bridges on different highways before and after loading sand.

However, residents on the Lwera wetland system in Lukaya Town Council in Kalungu District and Nkozi Sub-county in Mpigi District, said most of the sand miners and transporters do not follow guidelines.

According to Mr Ronald Ssemanda, the chairperson of Kamuwunga Landing Site in Lukaya Town Council, some  mining companies have disrupted the drainage system, leading to floods in case of a downpour. 
He said the open pits become breeding places for mosquitoes.

“Everything is in a mess, the miners leave the deep pits open after extracting sand and our people are registering a lot of losses whenever it rains, which was not the case before sand mining started in Lwera ,” he said. 

Mr Ssemanda said most drivers transport sand during  night hours  to  avoid being arrested. 
Last month, Mpigi District leadership made an impromptu visit to  Lwera and discovered that only three of the 15 mining firms have  valid permits.

Mr Francis Bbuye, the chairperson Nkozi Sub-county, said some trucks without tarpaulins dump sand along the way which becomes a menace to other motorists .

“We have witnessed several accidents involving motorcyclists as they try to dodge the sand on both sides of the Kampala-Masaka highway, especially within Lwera area, ’’ Mr Bbuye said
Mr Allan Ssempebwa, the Unra public relation officer, said they would scale up their operations and arrest errant sand truck drivers . 

“We are aware that some sand truck drivers load beyond the permitted axle load and these are the ones who use village routes to connect to Kampala after  dodging  our weighbridges on  highways, but our mobile  team is going to step up their operations,” he said 
He urged local leaders to work closely with Unra and police to ensure that trucks adhere to the set guidelines. 

Sand mining has in the past decade become a lucrative business due to the swiftly growing construction sector. However, environmentalists have on regular occasions raised concerns over   measures that can regulate the business so as to avoid degradation and environmental adverse effects. 

Background
In 2018, National Environment Management Authority together with experts developed a mining policy, which spelt out guidelines to regulate extraction activities as well as safe guarding the country’s natural ecosystem. 

The policy requires miners to clearly demarcate their mining fields and present an environmental rehabilitation plan before a permit is issued out.

Under the same policy, the government put sand, stones and murrum under the category of minerals in the new approved mining policy. Government believes this will end unregulated sand mining across the country.

According to the new policy, any one intending to venture into sand mining will be required to acquire a licence from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. 

Those who will be caught engaging in sand mining without a licence will be fined Shs500,0000 or jailed for one year or both.