NEMA to shut down sand mining in Lwera amid huge construction boom

KALUNGI — Dr. Barirega Akankwasah, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) Executive Director has announced that sand mining activities in Lwera Wetland will be closed down at the end of 2023.

Speaking to reporters at the Lukaaya road toll market where he also launched a country-wide anti-litter campaign, Dr. Barirega said all licenses for sanding mining in Lwera will not be renewed beyond 2023.

“Following a directive by the President, in 2001, NEMA suspended any further permitting of all development activities including sand mining in wetlands. So from that time, we have not issued any other permit for sand mining. What that means is that those who had licenses as of a second September 2021 majority of them have expired and are required to decommission and leave,” Dr. Barirega said in an interview.

Lwera is a breeding ground for fish serves as a stop for migratory birds and can store vast amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide underground.

The wetland stretches more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) astride the highway from Kampala into the western interior. It has long been worked over by sand miners, legal and illegal, motivated by demand from the construction industry.

But while all wetlands around Lake Victoria are under threat from sand miners, the eponymously named sand from Lwera is favored among builders for its coarse texture that’s said to perform better in brickwork mortar.

Some builders are known to turn trucks back, rejecting the sand if they can’t prove by feeling it that it’s Lwera material.

At least two companies operate formally within Lwera: the Chinese-owned Double Q Co. Ltd. and Seroma Ltd. Both frequently face questions over their allegedly destructive activities there.

Dr. Barirega didn’t reveal the names of companies licensed to operate in Lwera, but noted that he will not renew their licenses when they expire by the end of this year.

“I am only aware of two companies whose permits are still valid,” Dr. Barirega told journalists on Tuesday. “Once those expire and they should be expiring within less than one year you shall not expect any mining activities in Lwera unless the government decides otherwise,” the NEMA boss noted.