Thousands of residents in Magarini are up in arms with salt manufacturing companies for contributing to massive environmental and health hazards in their area.
They claim the companies activities has had many negative effects to their livelihoods including destruction of mangroves and coconut trees which is their main economic activities problem that has led to increased poverty levels..
Currently locals say there about 90 per cent of the resident living near the salt firms have eye complications.
Women from the area also have complications with their menstruation and at times they end up receiving them twice in a month.
On Saturday journalists toured some of the villages living near the salt firms in Gongoni, Kambi ya Waya and Kanagoni and came face to face with the problems caused by the salt firms.
In one of the village at Garite B for example a family is struggling to survive in an ‘Island’ created by salty waste water from Kurawa salt firms.
Kahaso Charo and her husband David Juma Kadenge with their 11 year old daughter cannot do any farming activities at their land.
The couple’s coconut trees are dying and their only child dropped out of school due to the poverty that has hit them.
Speaking at their home Charo said before the investor set up the salt firm she used to earn over Sh1,500 from the over 500 coconut trees but currently the trees are dying and the remaining ones are no longer productive.
“The coconut trees no longer produce coconuts, palm wine or Makuti, I am not even able to educate my only daughter, I do not have food,” she said.
She said water which used to be fresh has now turned salty and to get clean water she must travel over 10 kilometers.
“The government should intervene and tell the investor to close these dykes , the area used to have many mangroves but they were destroyed to pave way for their expansion works,’’ she said.
Kadenge on his part said getting a three course meal per day is difficult as there is no income generating activity after the company built dykes near their six acre piece of land.
Jackson Kazungu Fondo from Kanagoni said over 6500 farmers from Kurawa, Bundasaga, Kanagoni, Mtoroni and Garite are unable to do farming as their area falls within the area where salt is manufactured.
He said they have had so many court battles that are yet to end a problem which has made life difficult for them.
“The salt firm investors blocked the flow of water , destroyed key mangrove trees which are turtle breeding grounds, now there is a lot of soil erosion,’’ he said
Fondo said they plan to do research to establish the cause of eye problems among locals living in the area.
In Magarini there are about seven salt firms which are conducting their activities in an area where locals also live and have had disputes for many years.