Sand miners petition NCCI
Sand miners have petitioned the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) over environment minister Pohamba Shifeta's order to suspend environmental clearance certificates granted to the Uukwambi Traditional Authority for sand mining at Ekamba and Onanime, outside Oshakati.
A group of ten SMEs signed a petition that was handed to the NCCI northern branch, demanding the reopening of two burrow pits with immediate effect.
The group claim they are supplying sand to construction companies that are building houses in various northern towns. They say construction has now ground to a halt following Shifeta's decision.
“We are not happy with the suspension of the sand clearance certificates for Iiheke yaNakele and Onanime by the environment minister on 29 March.
“We demand their reopening because we supply building sand to building constructors busy with the construction of houses in the northern regions, which has now stopped because there is no sand,” the petition reads.
“The suspension of the two pits by the minister is delaying the development and progress of the affected towns of Oshakati, Ongwediva, Ondangwa and Oshikuku. This has also cost income to the over 1 500 employees who were involved.”
The businesses were given permission to excavate sand at the two villages by the traditional authority.
Among the affected companies are T4 Investment, Kweenda Trading, Ndaenda Construction, Nangelo Trading and EMS CC.
The traditional authority also expressed its unhappiness over the suspension of environmental clearance certificates.
It had obtained the certificates for sand mining at existing pits at the two villages, but the local communities appealed to Shifeta, saying the authority had not consulted them.
When he delivered his ruling on 29 March, Shifeta said the communities had proven that there had been no public consultations.
NCCI northern branch chairperson Tomas Iindji confirmed receiving the petition, saying it is receiving attention.
“We first have to engage the stakeholders involved, which are the office of the governor, the traditional authority and the environment ministry. We cannot just get into it, because it involves legal issues,” Iindji added.
ILENI NANDJATO
A group of ten SMEs signed a petition that was handed to the NCCI northern branch, demanding the reopening of two burrow pits with immediate effect.
The group claim they are supplying sand to construction companies that are building houses in various northern towns. They say construction has now ground to a halt following Shifeta's decision.
“We are not happy with the suspension of the sand clearance certificates for Iiheke yaNakele and Onanime by the environment minister on 29 March.
“We demand their reopening because we supply building sand to building constructors busy with the construction of houses in the northern regions, which has now stopped because there is no sand,” the petition reads.
“The suspension of the two pits by the minister is delaying the development and progress of the affected towns of Oshakati, Ongwediva, Ondangwa and Oshikuku. This has also cost income to the over 1 500 employees who were involved.”
The businesses were given permission to excavate sand at the two villages by the traditional authority.
Among the affected companies are T4 Investment, Kweenda Trading, Ndaenda Construction, Nangelo Trading and EMS CC.
The traditional authority also expressed its unhappiness over the suspension of environmental clearance certificates.
It had obtained the certificates for sand mining at existing pits at the two villages, but the local communities appealed to Shifeta, saying the authority had not consulted them.
When he delivered his ruling on 29 March, Shifeta said the communities had proven that there had been no public consultations.
NCCI northern branch chairperson Tomas Iindji confirmed receiving the petition, saying it is receiving attention.
“We first have to engage the stakeholders involved, which are the office of the governor, the traditional authority and the environment ministry. We cannot just get into it, because it involves legal issues,” Iindji added.
ILENI NANDJATO
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