Constructors in Kisii town have been forced to dig deeper into their pockets to buy sand as the prices of the commodity have gone up in the town.
According to Augustine Onyancha, a local sand dealer in Kisii town, the price of sand has soared from Sh20,000 per 25 tones lorry to Sh30,000 due to scarcity of the commodity from the main sources of rivers such like Gesonso and Gucha.
Speaking in his officeon Monday Ajiwa Shamji Sand supplier’s manager Harbid Shah attributed the spiral effect in the price to the high rainfall which has made the fetch of sand by the locals hard.
“No one wants to risk his life, therefore no one would go to harvest sand from the river which is overflowing and this is why there is a shortage,” said Shah.
He added that sad prices normally shoot when there is a lot of rain or little rain and this ends when there is moderate rain.
He also pointed out that in order to get sand; the scoopers have to venture deep in the river bed thus endangering their lives as it is infested with crocodiles.
Shad added that the price of hiring a piece of land in urban areas for storage of the commodity before it is sold has skyrocketed and dealers have increased the price of sand in order to recover overhead costs.