- Sand harvesting is the main source of income for many Maai Mahiu residents
- There are over 10 youths groups involved in the trade
Image: FILE
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has now spread to the construction sector, leaving hundreds of workers jobless and hundreds of construction sites closed.
In Mai Mahiu, Naivasha, over 3,000 sand loaders and harvesters have been left jobless due to a drop in the number of traders seeking the construction material.
Nakuru county government which collects over Sh300,000 from sand cess everyday has also been adversely affected by the crisis.
According to chairman of the sand harvesters Munyiri Ole Ntiamput, the majority of their customers hailed from Ngong, Kiambu and Nairobi.
He said due to the pandemic, the number of lorries seeking sand from the area had dropped sharply forcing thousands of the youths to go home.
“The problem started after the curfew was introduced two weeks ago as we used to work for 24 hours. Over 3,000 have los their jobs,” he said.
Munyiri added that the introduction of the lockdown in Nairobi further worsened the situation and left the sector on its knees.
“On a normal day we serve over 900 lorries and we are now getting less than 100, meaning a major loss to the youths and the county,” he said.
The patron of the youths group John Murigo attributed the economic crisis to the pandemic which had adversely affected all the sectors.
The former chairman of Nakuru County Council said that hundreds of youths were still working as loaders despite the drop in the number of transporters seeking sand.
“In a normal day, the sand harvesters would make three trips but currently getting even a single trip is a major challenge,” he said.
One of the affected youths, Simon Wahome, termed the current period as the worst for the sector which supported hundreds of families.
Wahome challenged the national government to consider the youths who got their daily bread by loading sand as many had no other source of livelihood.
“On a normal day, one takes home over Sh1,000 but getting even Sh200 per day is turning out to be challenge due to the collapse of the construction sector,” he said.
Edited by Henry Makori