Erongo farmers feel bullied by Epangelo

ADAM HARTMANSWAKOPMUNDFarmers in the Erongo Region, who own land targeted for prospecting by government-owned mining company Epangelo, feel bullied into making their land available for uranium prospecting.They say they do not have the resources to defend their interests against such a powerful company.“Going up against such entities in the appropriate realm and forum is costly and very time consuming. How do farmers and property owners, in instances such as these, protect themselves against a state-owned entity with limitless power and financial means?” said one farmer, who wants to remain anonymous.This publication approached several of the farmers for comment on an application by Epangelo earlier this year for an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the proposed exploration on an exclusive prospecting licence (EPL 7547) in Erongo, which covers six farms in the Karibib Constituency.Livestock and game are kept on these farms, while they also attract tourists through trophy hunting and archaeological sites.No goProspecting on these farms will not just negatively impact the wellbeing of the animals but will also detract from the value of the tourist attractions, the farmers say.This in turn may also lead to crime such as poaching, vandalism and theft.“We won’t just allow anyone to come onto our property,” said Valereis Geldenhuys of Jakkalswater.According to the farmers, Epangelo reached out to them via email earlier this year, informing them of its intent to prospect on the land.A public consultation was arranged at Swakopmund in June. The meeting did not last long when the farmers demanded to know who the owners of Epangelo were, once they realised that it was a state-owned enterprise.Short noticeGCS Water Environmental Engineering Namibia, which was appointed by Epangelo to conduct the EIA, later sent a list of Epangelo’s ownership, with a short notice for another public consultation scheduled at the end of November.The names included M. Amunjhete (chief inspector of mines) and H. Itamba (deputy director) – both representatives of the ministry of mines and energy.According to the affected farmers they could not be present and they requested GCS to postpone the meeting to next year.The emailed answer the farmers received from Stephanie Strauss, country manager of GCS, was a major concern to them.“As you have indicated that none of the farmers is available for the meeting, the meeting cannot proceed and is thus cancelled. However, our EIA process must go ahead due to timelines and as such we will have to finalise the report and make a submission to the ministry of environment, forestry and tourism (MEFT) with the information and assessment made to date. You will have a further opportunity to comment on the report once it is submitted to MEFT as we will inform you thereof,” she wrote.ContrastingThe mechanism involved in mining rights includes the submission of an EIA and environmental management plans, which are approved by the environment ministry, while prospecting and mining licences are approved by the mines and energy ministry.Financiers for projects are either parastatals or the private sector. The owner of the underground mineral rights is the government, while the farmer and land owners own the rights above the ground.According to the farmer, the list of Epangelo’s ownership is clearly indicative that the ministry of mines is more involved in this project than publicised and that boils down to a conflict of interest on the part of the ministry.“How can that be fair, considering that the applications for EPLs are made to and approved by the ministry and considering the high positions members of the ministry hold in the proponent company, being Epangelo, which is state owned. How can there not be a clear and evident conflict of interest,” the farmers questioned.“Private individuals such as farmers involved herein are railroaded, bombarded and bullied into situations such as these, with no right of recourse.”Besides the disruption to farm life and the negative impact on business and the value of the property, farmers are also concerned that the those involved in the prospective mining activities will squeeze the last drop of water from the already drought-stricken land.“We will have to be directly involved. Anyone entering must pay and will not be allowed to use our water – it is too scarce,” one of the farmers said.Waiting gameThe only option for the farmers is to wait for the report to be published and to hope enough time is given for comments and objections.A consultant was also appointed on behalf of the farmers, who seemingly was side-lined by Epangelo’s consultants.“When the report is made public, we will then submit our objections – one main issue being that the process is flawed because no proper consultation process was done with as primary stakeholders,” said a farmer.“We are willing to listen, but then there must be a proper process. They can’t just push this through without that key component.”UnawareWhen approached for comment, Epangelo’s company secretary Rebekka Shamaila was surprised to hear of the issue, stating that she was unaware that farmers were concerned about the process.She added that the list of names of the parastatal’s ownership was outdated by at least five years and that Amunjhete and Itamba’s terms ended around 2017. According to her, there was no one in the ownership that were representatives of the mine’s ministry.“We will have to look into this. Epangelo follows solid procedures when it comes to the consultation process, and as an SOE we do not want to get into conflict with farmers or other stakeholders. We need to find out how [GCS] represented us for the farmers to conclude that they are being bullied. We need to sit down with them (farmers) and hear what the issue is,” she told Erongo.Strauss said she did not wish to comment until she had spoken to her bosses.adam@erongo.com.na

Erongo farmers feel bullied by Epangelo

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Namibian Sun 2026-02-10

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Erongo farmers feel bullied by Epangelo

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Namibian Sun 2026-02-10

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