Governor Joseph Lenku has put on notice sand harvesters doing illegal trade in the county, and immediately ordered revenue collectors to zero-in on them.
The county government came up with policies, three years ago, requiring sand transporters from the county to pay a flat fee of Sh60, 000 per month in taxes but many of them resorted to giving out bribes to revenue collectors, leaving the county coffers dry.
More than 1, 000 trucks ferrying sand leave Kajiado every day for Nairobi and its satellite towns. One full truck of sand is retailed at Sh50, 000 shillings in Nairobi, while the same amount is fetched at a cost of Sh3, 000 from the source.
Lenku, who spoke at the AIC girls boarding primary school in Kajiado town on Friday January 26 said the county cannot prosper if the business community cannot pay taxes, which eventually will trickles down to the grassroots for the maintenance roads and schools.
The governor, at the same time, gave sand brokers and transporters who have set base at the edge of AIC boarding primary school to move out of the site and seek alternative space.
He accused them of interfering with the school’s fence, adding that their behavior threatens the girls from the school.
The school that was established many years ago acts as a rescue centre for girls running away from harmful traditional malpractices such as, rape, early child marriages and female genital mutilation.
“This is not acceptable because we cannot allow idlers to mill around these young children who have had bad memories of their past, and which were mostly perpetrated by men,” said Lenku.
He gave the businessmen and their truck loaders three days to pack and leave the area, adding that the county government will undertake to mend the broken fence.
Earlier in the day the governor had made a site tour of Olkejuado High School where his government is putting up a main dining hall at a cost of Sh30 million.
The proposed dining hall project, whose works has started, has a sitting capacity of 1, 000 students at a time. The contractor at the site said he will use local materials such as sand and building stones.
Lenku announced at Kajiado AIC boarding, during a thanks giving prayer service that his government has launched a new sponsorship plan for girls rescued at the school.
He said beginning next week; his government will provide bursaries to some of the pupils at the school, which largely depend on foreign donors to run it.
This is the first time the county government will be giving bursaries to the institution that has more than 700 pupils from across the county.
The governor was accompanied by his CECs; Samuel Kanar (education), Alex Kilowua (roads), Moses Narok (agriculture) and Hamilton Parseina (lands).
