Quarry miners tighten noose on middlemen

By A CORRESPONDENT

They have been exploited for years. They labour in the deep, dangerous quarries seven days a week to harvest beautiful stones, ballast and sand but earn peanuts in return.

In fact, those beautiful houses you admire as you drive across the Rift Valley, Western and Nyanza regions are because of their sweat.

Many contractors working for wealthy individuals in the region know them by name. But brokers have over the years forced them into a life of misery because they hardly make profits from the hundreds of tonnes of building stones they sell every month.

But this is now set to change and the quarry workers in Homa Bay County will soon laugh all the way to the bank if discussions between quarry owners and the Homa Bay County bear fruits.

Governor Cyprian Awiti says his government is working on strategies and a concept note meant to streamline and regulate the quarry industry.

He wants the sale of the stones through registered companies to lock out brokers who have made a fortune from the stones, loved beyond Nyanza for their beauty and durability.

Parnership

The County Executive for Energy and Natural Resources, Pharesh Ratego, said the County will partner with the quarry owners to not only add value to the stones but to ensure the industry improves the economy of the region.

“Our county is known for its beautiful building stones, high quality sand and bricks, but those working in the quarries have nothing to show for the many orders they get from as far as Nairobi. We want to help them to benefit from these natural resources,” said Ratego.

He added: “If our deal succeeds, we will form companies through which the quarry owners will sell the stones, bricks, ballast and sand to prospective buyers. This will ensure they are not short changed by middlemen.”

He spoke after meeting officials of the Rabuor Quarry Sacco Society who paid him a courtesy call in his office last week. He told Home and Away that the middlemen bought sand for as little as Sh2,000 per seven-tonne lorry which they later sell to prospective home owners at Sh2,100 per tonne.

Ratego said the County has in the past lost millions of shillings in revenue because of the haphazard sale of quarry products.

“In many occasions, the middlemen refuse to pay revenue. This is because quarry activities remain uncontrolled,” he said.

Once the companies are formed, they will buy quarry products from the miners at competitive prices, store them in fenced yards from where brokers will acquire them at gazetted prices.

If the plan succeeds, it will be illegal to buy building stones, ballast or sand from outside the yards. Ratego said the move on the quarries was part of the County’s plans to map out all its natural resources that could generate revenue and eventually improve the lives of the people.

Vast Resources

Karachuonyo Sub-County is said to be sitting on vast reserves of some of the best quality building stones in Western Kenya.

Convoys of lorries line up everyday to collect quarry products, some of which are taken to as far as Nakuru and Naivasha.

Three years ago, the construction industry suffered a setback for almost a week when quarry workers boycotted work over low prices.

Villagers living around the quarries have also been complaining that the heavy trucks plying the area have damaged roads and urged the County to use part of the cess money to rehabilitate and maintain the roads. This appeal, according to Awiti, will be fully addressed once the new plans are implemented.

“We want make the quarry industry to create many jobs and this can only be done if it is streamlined and controlled,” said Awiti.

On his part, Ratego said the County government would also help the quarry owners to mechanise mining in their quarries and to brand their products.

“The quarry owners have no idea that the stones come in various colours. Thus, they are not exploiting this uniqueness to find new markets. With the aid of technology, we will be able to cut the building blocks into different sizes to suit market demands,” he said.

Ratego says he was already working on a concept paper on the possibility of starting a roofing tiles factory in the county: “There is a big potential for manufacturing red clay tiles because most parts of the county such as Rangwe have the right soil for this.”

Being Exploited

The Society’s chairman Gerishon Olonde said they have reached out to the County government because of exploitation by middlemen.

“Our stones have been used by prominent personalities in this country and yet we remain poor,” said Olonde.

He added: “Whenever I travel across Western Kenya, I see beautiful houses built with our stones. It makes me wonder why our people are still wallowing in poverty.”

Olonde said his group had sought a meeting with Ratego after quarry brokers refused to listen to our concerns. He said the quarry owners and workers have challenged the County to introduce new legislations to regulate the industry.

It has also emerged that the brokers had formed a cartel through which they not only underpay the quarry owners but also evaded paying revenue to the County.

“We have learnt that the brokers have not been paying taxes. They drive to the quarries in the dead of the night when our revenue collectors have gone home. This will soon change,” said the governor.

Most of the brokers have constructed massive godowns and sheds in major towns from where they sell the quarry products at more than triple the prices paid to quarry owners.

The push to streamline the industry comes at a time when the construction industry is recording a boom partly because of devolution.

Our Sweat

“The move by the county government to take control of the industry is very timely because the demand for building materials has more than doubled,” says Martin Saoke, a real estate investor in Homa Bay.

He added: “The stones, sand, bricks and ballast used in construction in many counties come from Homa Bay County and we must get the full value of our sweat.”

Ratego said Homa Bay County has massive investment opportunities  and also requires low-cost houses  to accommodate investors and  employees.

 Experts say Homa Bay, Mbita, Oyugis, Kendu Bay, Ndhiwa require decent and affordable houses for the rising urban population. They note that Homa Bay has large quarries and the best sand deposits critical for massive housing development schemes.

Investments in low-cost housing are critical for the success of the county urban development strategy.

Some experts say that the quarry deposits in Homa Bay are so large it could even be exported to neighboring countries to raise additional revenue to develop the county.

“With Lake Victoria around us, we can easily transport these building stones and other quarry products to Tanzania and Uganda. This is our gold and we must now make use of it,” said Martin Majiwa, a contractor.

Majiwa told Home and Away that the presence of building materials in Homa Bay County would also help the locals to   put up low-cost but decent houses.