K’jong mine limestone
Aug 06, 2005
OVER 1,000 Karimojong and Pokot have embarked on mining limestone for sale to Tororo Cement Limited,
OVER 1,000 Karimojong and Pokot have embarked on mining limestone for sale to Tororo Cement Limited, reports Nathan Etengu.
The miners, who include armed warriors, have settled with their families at three concession sites established by Tororo Cement in Katikekile and Nangirokomol, both in Moroto district and at Anguruma in Nakapiripirit district.
Tororo Cement pays sh70,000 per 20-tonne tipper-load of limestone, while the loaders are paid sh10,000 per truck.
“We sometimes make sh140,000 per month while a good deal can even realise more than that,†said Longok Lochiyo, a warrior from Tapac on the slopes of Mt. Moroto.
Pulukol Erengengole, another warrior, said they could make more money if the number of tipper lorries that collected the stones were increased.
“Business has slowed down. Otherwise we had got an easy way of making a living that has made us abandon reliance on cows and rustling. From this business, I have been able to buy clothes for my wife and sorghum for the family,†Erengengole said.
He said the limestone business had made the gun literally useless to the people who were engaged in collecting the stones.
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The miners, who include armed warriors, have settled with their families at three concession sites established by Tororo Cement in Katikekile and Nangirokomol, both in Moroto district and at Anguruma in Nakapiripirit district.
Tororo Cement pays sh70,000 per 20-tonne tipper-load of limestone, while the loaders are paid sh10,000 per truck.
“We sometimes make sh140,000 per month while a good deal can even realise more than that,†said Longok Lochiyo, a warrior from Tapac on the slopes of Mt. Moroto.
Pulukol Erengengole, another warrior, said they could make more money if the number of tipper lorries that collected the stones were increased.
“Business has slowed down. Otherwise we had got an easy way of making a living that has made us abandon reliance on cows and rustling. From this business, I have been able to buy clothes for my wife and sorghum for the family,†Erengengole said.
He said the limestone business had made the gun literally useless to the people who were engaged in collecting the stones.
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