By Dadson A. Musa
Sand, found in good quantity along our beaches in Sierra Leone is not only making these beaches beautiful but proves useful when it comes to construction of roads, bridges, houses, etc. It provides places along the coast of Sierra Leone where people can go and have leisure. After the war, the need for post-war reconstruction and development has made the demand for sand go up rapidly. This high demand for sand has made the price to go up exponentially. So, the trade in sand has been a booming one especially in the capital city, Freetown. Lakka beach, one of the very attractive beaches located in the West end of Freetown is a place due to its proximity to construction sites in the capital is a place where sand mining has been rampant. Some years back the mining on a large scale was permitted but for obvious apparent environmental degradation authorities intervened and put a stop to it.
One local resident, Paul told me that soldiers were” stationed at strategic locations within Lakka to fend off would-be miners” which has restricted people from mining sand openly. As it was clearly evident then, sand mining was rapidly depleting the beach front. The quantity of sand removed was distorting the natural make-up of the beach front. Foundations of solid houses along the Lakka beach have given way and others have crumbled due to sand mining. Alhaji Mohammed Fornah, a young man who was born in this Lakka community and has grown up there told us that “we used to play football on the sand and we enjoyed it when we were small boys and it has all wiped out due to sand mining”. Now it is evident that a good chunk of sand has been removed which has exposed the rocks underground. Illicit mining which is mostly done at night now is compounding the problem. During the night time when nobody is paying attention young men come down to the beach with bags of different sizes and load them with sand which are eventually taken to construction sites. They get paid well for it as the construction industry has been booming here. Preferring anonymity, one of the illegal sand miners when contacted told me this, ” ……I am aware of the problem that my trade is causing the environment but there is no option opened to me for my survival so I am doing this to irk out a living for myself and my family. ” Looking a bit hesitant he went on to tell me how through this sand mining he has taken care of himself and his family. And he confessed having no education, and no other means of livelihood as good jobs are hard to come by. The economic conditions of most of the miners seems dire. These sentiments were also re-echoed by the PRO of the Environment Protection Agency, Tamba Kamara who accepted that the miners were in breach of environmental laws of the country but also admitted that it is incumbent on government to cushion their economic plight by providing alternative means of livelihood to keep them off sand mining. EPA has tried very hard to stop the illicit mining but the people are just too stubborn.
“The beaches are one of the Ministry of Tourism’s greatest assets and if Sierra Leone is to compete with other countries in tourism we have to protect our natural resources from depletion, therefore local councils especially Freetown City Council and Western Area Rural District Council need to review the local government act of 2004 to decide on designated sites along the coastal area where sand mining is permitted rather than rampant mining”, said Mohamed Jalloh who is the Director of Tourism at the Ministry. At Lakka, many of the hospitality operators were forced to close shop as a result of illicit sand mining causing high rise in sea level during heavy down pour of rain which left destruction of many structures and facilities at the beach front. Local authorities, like the village headmen along coastal communities expressed frustration affecting tourism and other businesses including fishing during a time like this. “When people are engaged in illicit sand mining the sea comes closer inland forcing the fishes to move far off which makes it difficult for fisherman to get good catch,” said Fornah, a local resident. Law enforcement agencies are making moves to enforce the laws by bringing defaulters to book but some police officers at the Adonkia police station are in ” collusion” with these illegal sand miners and are in the habit of releasing the culprits unduly. A claim that senior police officers have denied and have laid the blame squarely at the door step of officials of the local councils who they say are benefiting from proceeds of the illegal sand mining.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Friday, February 23rd, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
