By Alex Bukumunhe
Residents of Nangwa in Nakisunga sub-county, Mukono district have vowed to block Seyan Brothers and Company from quarrying unless it constructs a health centre in the area.

During a July 13 meeting with the firm’s representatives, the area councillor, Julius Kiwanuka, said they also wanted piped-water.

They demanded that the quarry company should make the commitment in writing so that they could sue it if the demands were not met.

Prosy Galabuzi, a resident, asked: “Seyan wants us to make hasty decisions yet what we are doing today will also affect our grandchildren.

“How sure are we that they are going to construct a health centre for us if the promise has not been put in writing?”

She added that other quarry companies, which were operating in the area, promised to excavate roads and provide security lights but the promises were not fulfiled.

James Oniawuni, a resident, said he would offer land for the passage of water pipes if the company presented to them an environmental impact assessment report as demanded by the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA).

Recently, NEMA blocked Seyan Brothers and other firms from quarrying following a petition by residents, who claimed that the project risked their lives and that of their livestock.

Over 200 residents, led by former MP and environmentalist, John Ken Lukyamuzi, accused the quarry of using obsolete technology that led to destruction of property.

Lukyamuzi said the quarries violated the Environment Act.

Dickson Lufafa, a NEMA official, said the project was halted because soil from the quarry was silting a nearby river.

“The vibrations created by the blasts have caused cracks in our houses. Flying stones also destroy our roofs yet we are not compensated,” Coprian Kiwanuka, a resident, explained during a meeting at Buntaba Primary School recently.