Manganese trucks impounded
The police at Lüderitz on Friday impounded eight trucks carrying manganese ore from South Africa after it was found that no clearance certificate had been issued for the operation.
TradePort Namibia is one of two South African companies that had negotiated with NamPort to export 30 000 tonnes of manganese ore a month through Lüderitz.
Residents objected, saying the operation would cause irreparable damage to local fisheries, oyster farms and tourism establishment, while clogging the town's main street with truck traffic. It is understood that TradePort Namibia had applied for an environmental clearance certificate but decided to go ahead before getting the green light. The first truckloads of manganese ore were dumped along the road outside Lüderitz last week. Residents responded quickly by insisting that the police and environmental commissioner act against the illegal offloading. Environmental commissioner Teofilus Nghitila, who is also the acting permanent secretary in the ministry of environment and tourism, on Thursday instructed police chief Sebastian Ndeitunga to stop the trucks from offloading the ore.
“We have experts on the matter,” Nghitila said on Friday.
“This is not something we take lightly. It is a gross violation to engage in such an operation without an environmental clearance certificate.” Two environmental inspectors arrived at Lüderitz on Friday to investigate. TradePort was instructed to “rehabilitate” the area within the next five working days – starting today. This means that it has to remove all the manganese it has offloaded so far. A source in the environment ministry said it was far from guaranteed that the company would be issued a clearance certificate. This source said it might take a while to evaluate the application because it involved a “lengthy and detailed scrutiny”.
The source also said that the site where the manganese was offloaded, which is TransNamib property within the town boundaries, is not “environmentally fit” for the purpose. It is not yet clear whether the impounded trucks would be allowed to return to South Africa pending the environmental clearance.
CATHERINE SASMAN
TradePort Namibia is one of two South African companies that had negotiated with NamPort to export 30 000 tonnes of manganese ore a month through Lüderitz.
Residents objected, saying the operation would cause irreparable damage to local fisheries, oyster farms and tourism establishment, while clogging the town's main street with truck traffic. It is understood that TradePort Namibia had applied for an environmental clearance certificate but decided to go ahead before getting the green light. The first truckloads of manganese ore were dumped along the road outside Lüderitz last week. Residents responded quickly by insisting that the police and environmental commissioner act against the illegal offloading. Environmental commissioner Teofilus Nghitila, who is also the acting permanent secretary in the ministry of environment and tourism, on Thursday instructed police chief Sebastian Ndeitunga to stop the trucks from offloading the ore.
“We have experts on the matter,” Nghitila said on Friday.
“This is not something we take lightly. It is a gross violation to engage in such an operation without an environmental clearance certificate.” Two environmental inspectors arrived at Lüderitz on Friday to investigate. TradePort was instructed to “rehabilitate” the area within the next five working days – starting today. This means that it has to remove all the manganese it has offloaded so far. A source in the environment ministry said it was far from guaranteed that the company would be issued a clearance certificate. This source said it might take a while to evaluate the application because it involved a “lengthy and detailed scrutiny”.
The source also said that the site where the manganese was offloaded, which is TransNamib property within the town boundaries, is not “environmentally fit” for the purpose. It is not yet clear whether the impounded trucks would be allowed to return to South Africa pending the environmental clearance.
CATHERINE SASMAN
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