Lüderitz adamant on seaport extension despite petition from concerned groups

Lüderitz mayor Phillippus Balhao yesterday said the port extension at the town will be beneficial for the community.

This comes after Nama and Ovaherero traditional leaders say the extension of the Lüderitz seaport will desecrate their ancestors graveyard at Shark Island.

The traditional leaders have petitioned the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to stop the Namibian government from allegedly desecrating the Nama and Ovaherero genocide site on Shark Island.

CERD is a United Nations body that monitors the implementation of the international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination by all state parties.

Nama Traditional Leaders Association spokesperson Maboss Ortmann says the leaders believe the planned extension will desecrate the identities and the legacy of the genocide.

“The proposed port expansion will not only affect Shark Island but also disturb the resting places of many Nama and Ovaherero who died there,” he says.

Shark Island, located off the shore of Lüderitz, was a concentration camp site used by the German colonial rule as an extermination camp for Herero and Nama prisoners captured from 1904 to 1908 during the genocide.

Ortmann says the port expansion, related to the development of the green hydrogen facility in the area which will use wind-powered turbines, disregards the history of the genocide.

“These new plans would effectively erase all traces of this disastrous event on the national psyche as well as that of the community,” he says.

Ortman says the traditional leaders are not opposing development at the port, but they want the Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) to look at alternative locations in regards to the exploration of green hydrogen.

He also says traditional authorities were not properly informed on the extension of the port and had to hear about it through signs placed around the town and through social media.

Ortman says the port expansion includes both underwater dredging and building over unmarked graves of former camp inmates that are scattered across the outskirts of Lüderitz.

“We want to preserve the little bit of Shark Island heritage that remains there and what is left of our ancestors’ memory,” he says.

However, Balhao said the oil and gas explorations occurring at the port would benefit the economy and would not impact Shark Island.

“The extension is worth it. You know, the plans that I’ve seen from Namport, show that the extension will not touch Shark Island,” he said.

Balhao said the port has to be extended due to the port’s proximity to the people and due to the fact that the green hydrogen initiative requires the port to be extended for sufficient seaside access.

He said Namport did not properly communicate the details of the extensions to the traditional leaders to help them understand the plans.

Namport did not respond to calls and messages sent to them by the time of going to print.