Seven officers handling 150 applications: environment ministry overwhelmed

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has only seven environmental officials to process approximately 150 environmental impact assessment applications received per month.

Ministry environmental commissioner Timo Mufeti says this causes delays in environmental clearance certificate reviews, limited inspections and monitoring, and slowed emergency response for compliance enforcement at mining companies.

He made these remarks in last week’s report from the parliamentary standing committee on natural resources’ investigation of alleged illegal lithium mining at Uis, in the Dâures constituency of the Erongo region.

The report cleared mining companies LongFire Investments and Xingfeng Mining company from conducting illegal mining activities.

“The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has only seven environmental officials against the approximately 150 applications received for environmental impact assessments per month, hence there have been delays in the environmental clearance certificate reviews as well,” says the report.

The parliamentary committee initiated the investigation last year after former parliamentarian Henny Seibeb moved a motion in parliament to ban illegal lithium mining at Uis based on claims by the Uis community that Xingfeng Mining company did not conduct an environmental impact assessment.

At the time, community member Anmire Dâusas alleged that the community was aware of irregularities in how Chinese mining company Xingfeng was granted an exclusive prospecting licence (EPL). Dâusas said it is clear the company did not do an environmental impact assessment to obtain an environmental clearance certificate for EPL.

“If they had done the assessment, they would have known which areas are for tourism and where our ancestral graves are through their own study and consultation with the community members.

But these were not done, and yet they were awarded an environmental clearance certificate. This is why we say the awarding of the EPL has irregularities,” said Dâusas.

The report says Mufeti informed the committee that the Environmental Management Act of 2007 was in the process of amendment to address shortcomings experienced in implementation.

“He pointed out public consultations were very limited and the law stipulates the advertisement for objections should be placed in newspapers, which all communities do not have access to on time,” says the report.

The community also alleged the areas the company is mining are sensitive breeding areas of wildlife from which the Tsiseb conservancy was earning an income for the community through trophy hunting. However, when lithium mining started, the community alleged the animals moved from the area and the community lost the contract.

Chairperson of the concerned community, Jimmy Areseb, also claims that the environmental clearance certificate for LongFire Investment being utilised by Xingfeng Mining was issued for the Okombahe area, but was being used in the Uis area.

“The environmental commissioner established that the environmental clearance certificate for Longfire Investment that says ‘Okombahe Reserve’ was an administrative error and it has been rectified accordingly,” says the report.

The parliamentary committee recommends that traditional authorities foster increased cooperation and coherence with their respective communities, and that the Ministry of Mines and Energy should avoid issuing EPLs to investors without consent from respective traditional authorities.

“The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism should ensure that the environmental impact assessment officers engage traditional authorities and other stakeholders when conducting assessments,” says the report.

The parliamentary committee further recommends that the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism identify other methods of advertisements for objections that are more accessible to communities in rural areas.