Manganese culprits must pay

Lüderitz residents have demanded an immediate moratorium on all movement of manganese ore to and from the town's harbour until sufficient social and environmental research has been done to identify and limit the impacts.They further demand that the illegal dumping of manganese ore outside the town in December and early January be properly investigated and the guilty parties brought to book.TradePort Namibia, a South African-based company registered locally, had dumped manganese ore on a concrete slab next to TransNamib's rail siding at Lüderitz towards the end of December. TradePort brought in the manganese ore through the Ariamsvlei border post and dumped it without the requisite clearance certificate from the environment ministry. While the matter of the clearance certificate is now under scrutiny, NamPort undertook to store the ore in a shed on the harbour premises. Residents this week petitioned environment minister Pohamba Shifeta and also called on the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and ombudsman John Walters to investigate and take action to prevent a repeat.They have registered their concern over potential environmental pollution and the impact on local businesses - especially fishing, mariculture and tourism.The petition states that any pollution would mean that Namibia is in breach of the European Union (EU) and international health controls on the local fishing industry, which primarily exports its products to the EU. It expresses concern that pollution might be a devastating blow to all marine products being harvested in the Lüderitz area. The residents further state that the transhipment of manganese ore through Lüderitz harbour may jeopardise Namibia under the International Standards Organisation rules and penalties, which they said could apply to both ports managed by NamPort.“It could seriously damage Namibia's credibility, standing and rankings in international bodies for blatant breaches of many conventions, treaties, and so on to which Namibia is signatory. It could halt exports and imports by sea of all products intended for human consumption, with collapse of many long-established industries employing thousands, and have a severe impact on the country,” the petition reads. The residents stress that they are not against development, but fear threats to their health and livelihoods, the environment and the town's hard-earned economic pillars, which they say are already shaky.“We are against the lack of transparency by all parties involved and their breach of the spirit and letter of the Environmental Management Act,” the residents' petition reads. CATHERINE SASMAN

Manganese culprits must pay

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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Manganese culprits must pay

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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