Residents of Kilifi County especially those residing in mining-dominated areas have in the recent past come out to air their dissatisfaction with the operations of some investments in the area.
The move has forced the Cabinet Secretary for Mining and Blue Economy Ali Hassan Joho and the National Assembly departmental committee on Environment, Forest and Mining to camp in the area for fact-finding missions.
To start with, residents of Kambe Ribe in Rabai Sub County have for a long time decried the devastating effects of stone blasting and everlasting dust as a result of mining activities being undertaken by the Simba Cement factory in the area. The factory located at the Bondora area near the boundary of Rabi and Kaloleni Sub Counties has given residents sleepless nights. Still, the most affected of them are those who reside in downstream villages, eight kilometres from the firm where mining for raw materials is taking place.
According to Neema Mwadena, a resident of Kambe village, the mining activities had led to the destruction of property and a rise in respiratory diseases some very severe to both human beings and animals.
“The worrying thing Simba cement does is to blast the sites very early in the morning when most people are still asleep and this has resulted in tremors that have caused cracks on our houses. The dust is also so severe that animals die when they feed on vegetation in the area. We don’t want that Simba cement here,” said Neema.
Mr Maurice Dzoro, also a resident said that the firm was also forcefully displacing residents from two villages to expand their mining sites a move that they have vehemently opposed. He blamed the National Government Administration Officers (NGAO) for colluding with the rogue investor to forcefully evict them through threats.
“There is a lot of exploitation from the company in collaboration with the NGAOs and the process they used to acquire land is vague but they are insisting on acquiring more land illegally,” he said.
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Kilifi Women Representative who is a member of the Environment, Forest and Mining committee accompanied committee members led by its chairman Baringo South MP Charles Kamuren, Kibwezi East MP Jessica Mbalu, her Msambweni counterpart and Kwale women representative Fatuma Masito to listen to the cries of the people and make a report.
“This factory has caused a lot of problems to the people of Rabai and there are others such as Jumbo steel mills that are polluting the environment and causing a recipe for respiratory complications including cancer and another factory at Kwakadzengo area in Kilifi South Sub County that was built on riparian land,” she said.
Also present was Mining and Blue Economy CS Ali Hassan Joho who ordered the immediate closure of the firm’s activities for the unidentified period until all the issues raised by residents were addressed.
“Because you have contravened the law and therefore, I direct my Principal Secretary (PS) to institute the process of issuing a notice of closure of this factory until they comply fully with the mining and operation regulations,” said Joho.
By Nehemiah Okwembah
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