By: Kebba Ansu Manneh
In Kartong, villagers have come together at the village banaba to address ongoing disputes over sand mining activities in their community, which have been halted for over a year due to legal disagreements. The conflict involves two factions of the Kartong Village Development Committee (VDC): one supported by the village Alkalo and Elders and the other backed by the Brikama Area Council (BAC).
The meeting on Sunday, December 1, 2024, focused on the challenges villagers face in accessing sand for local development projects. Many attendees expressed frustration over the high costs of ordering sand from outside the community since the embargo began, urging them to lift the blockade and resumption of local sand mining.
Speakers also highlighted the embargo’s financial impact, noting that remittances from truck drivers who previously transported sand have ceased. Each truck was required to pay D300, contributing to funding the village’s water supply system. The halt in these payments has led to issues with the community’s water supply. Villagers hope that resolving the dispute will restore sand access and financial resources.
The villagers noted that the funds collected from truck driver payments relieved many residents from the burden of making monthly contributions of D200 towards the community’s water supply system. However, due to the sand mining embargo, these payments have been suspended, and many villagers are now struggling to afford their monthly contributions, which has negatively impacted the community’s water supply.
“This engagement is critical because it hopes to address the concerns of the people of Kartong in accessing the right to mine sand within the community under an embargo. We desire to place these mining powers in the hands of the Alkalo and the Council of Elders, who are representatives from the various Kabilos in the village, until the time when the issue of the VDC is resolved at the court,” Musa F Manneh, a Senior Youth Representative told TAT.
He added: “Now that the villagers agreed to hand over the sand mining powers to the Alkalo and his Council of Elders, it’s about time for all to rally behind them to address our collective challenges to accessing sand for our various development works. Of course, we know that this agreement to surrender these powers to the Alkalo and his Council cannot come into effect without getting approval from the Geology Department, and we are calling on all to be vigilant until the approval is granted to start any sand mining in the village.
He revealed that although the community is rich in sand deposits, these resources are not benefiting the people due to an embargo. He explained that this situation is seriously impacting the residents of Kartong, many of whom are paying more than D5000 to have a load of sand delivered to their backyards.
The Senior Representative emphasized that the sand mining embargo has impacted the community’s water supply system. He noted that funds collected from truck drivers are being used to purchase cash power, and many villagers need help to pay their monthly subscriptions.
Alieu Jabang, a youth leader, expressed his concerns about the embargo on sand mining within the community. He noted that many development projects are either at a standstill or are progressing very slowly due to the high cost of transporting sand to Kartong.
He urged the villagers to allow the Alkalo and his Council of Elders to temporarily oversee the sand mining operations until an official Village Development Committee (VDC) is established in Kartong. He argued that the current embargo is significantly impacting both factions of the VDC and stressed the urgent need to lift it.
Alhagie Bojang, a representative for truck drivers, described some of the challenges faced by truck drivers that led to the imposition of the sand mining embargo.
He argued that issues began when the drivers refused to pay fees to a faction of the Village Development Committee (VDC) recognized by the Brikama Area Council. In response, he said the other faction reported the drivers to either the Gunjur Police Station or the Police Commissioner based in Banjulinding.
According to him, Truck Drivers who work at the Kartong sand mining site never pay physical money to the Alkalo and Elders-backed VDC but rather buy cash power for the village water supply system.
He noted that more than D10 000 is collected each month to purchase cash power, the receipt of which is given to the Alkalo-backed VDC.
He recognizes that the current situation is impacting the drivers, the community, and BAC-supported Village Development Committee (VDC) members who are involved in various development projects. He calls on everyone to put aside their differences and support the Alkalo and the Council of Elders in leading the mining activities until a new VDC is established.
Many other speakers shared similar concerns and urged the village Alkalo and the Council of Elders to promptly engage the Geology Department, incorporating the village’s concerns to gain formal approval for controlling sand mining in Kartong.
A diverse group from the community attended the meeting, including village elders, youth, and women.
