New tax halts lifeline work for displaced sand transporters in Baidoa.

Sunday 30, August 2026 {HMC} The imposition by the Al-Shabaab group of additional payments on the owners of vehicles transporting sand in Baidoa has prevented hundreds of displaced workers from making a living for their families.

Jamal Hassan Mohamed, with a household of 10, says he has been unable to provide sufficient food for his family since July. He extracts sand at sites outside the city and transports it for construction use – but cannot afford to pay the new tax.

“Our living conditions are extremely difficult,” he said. “People in the areas outside the city have prohibited the work, and we’ve been forced to stay at home. Before, we had a source of income to support our household expenses, but now we are unemployed.”

Jamal, 50, said he earned $7 to $10 a day from the work, enabling him as sole breadwinner to provide three meals a day for his family. They struggle to get water, as he can’t afford the $0.25 per 20-litre container of water at the Deg-umur IDP camp where they live. He and his wife now walk for an hour to a privately owned shallow well to ask for a single 20-litre container of water.