Buchters demand transparency

More than 200 Lüderitz residents met on Monday night at the first public meeting called following the widespread outcry over the manganese ore that was dumped illegally at the town earlier this month.One of the primary outcomes of the meeting was that residents agreed that they welcome development, but not if business dealings flout the law or come at the cost of the health and safety of residents.“The big thing is the community is not against development, but it should be done in the correct way,” town resident Reginald Hercules told Namibian Sun yesterday. Another resident who attended the meeting said a clear takeaway was that “Lüderitz needs and wants development, but this needs to be done transparently and involve the community”.Hercules added that residents seem to have agreed to petition the relevant authorities to take the necessary steps to address the fact that a South African company, registered in Namibia as TradePort Namibia CC, had dumped manganese ore without the necessary permits and without the necessary precautions required when handling hazardous material.The company was in early January ordered to stop the offloading of the 650 tonnes of manganese ore until an investigation by the environment ministry and an application for an environmental clearance certificate is completed and processed. “The fact is they acted incorrectly and illegally. There are laws in our country which require that certain actions and consequences take place if someone acts illegally,” Hercules added. He said the petition will ask that the authorities hold those who broke the law accountable. He said the public meeting highlighted the community's agreement that they are in favour of business development, but that their input is a legal and much-needed requirement.“We all agreed and extended an open invitation that when things take place in future, let it be transparent,” he said. A third topic of concern addressed on Monday night was the requirements around the necessary and correct infrastructure and system that needed to be in place to ensure public health and safety when hazardous materials are dealt with. “The long and short of it is if they had bagged the product or put it in safe containers made for hazardous products, then the pollution would have been basically non-existent,” Hercules emphasised. “So there is a right way to do this. But we oppose the fact that the manganese was dumped in the open without the necessary papers or safety measures in place.”Another resident who attended the meeting, and who preferred to remain anonymous, said while the meeting is a step in the right direction, many concerns remain.“I think the meeting went reasonably well. Everyone agrees and will stand together to insist that the way forward is engagement with the relevant authorities, who have been mainly missing in action until now. This includes Namport, the environment authorities and others.” Namibian Sun was also informed that another South Africa company, Geo Pollution Technologies, which was appointed by Pektranam Logistics to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and prepare an environmental management plan for the proposed handling, storage and export of manganese via the port of Lüderitz, has called a public meeting scheduled for next week. JANA-MARI SMITH

Buchters demand transparency

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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Buchters demand transparency

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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