Governor steps into Goantagab Mine dispute

Kunene governor Vipuakuje Muharukua says he is not taking the Goantagab mine dispute about jobs versus the environment lightly.

He says he is consulting all stakeholders, including ministers to find a solution to the dispute around the mine in the Dâures constituency near Khorixas.

He said this on Monday after undertaking a fact-finding visit to Goantagab Mine on Friday.

The governor was accompanied by the secretary of the Swapo Party Youth League, Ephraim Nekongo.

“We convened a ministerial meeting last night, and you can rest assured, we policymakers have conservation at heart, as well as the prospects that any commercial activity in the country and in the region might have. We are not taking it lightly. It’s not business as usual,” he said, although he declined to disclose more information.

The reopening of the mine is at the centre of a dispute between tourism company Ultimate Safaris, the Doro Nawas and Uibasen Twyfelfontein conservancies on one hand, and Timoteus Mashuna, Ottilie Ndimulunde and the Sorris Sorris conservancy on the other.

The dispute is currently before the courts.

The governor’s tour follows a petition by Herman Naruseb, the senior councillor of the Dâure Daman Traditional Authority, for Muharukua to intervene in the dispute so that the community can benefit through job creation.

Sinco Holdings chief operations officer for mining operations David Tomas says the company plans to employ up to 150 young people from the local community in developing the Goantagab Mine in partnership with South African mining firm Birca Mining.

Managing director of Ultimate Safaris Tristan Cowley, however, strongly opposes the reopening of the mine.

“Mining displaces desert-adapted black rhino, and if rhino are displaced, the economy that relies on them would be affected too,” he says.

In addition, he argues the reopening of the mine, located in the Sorris Sorris conservancy under the Dâure Daman Traditional Authority, will increase the risks of poaching, further endangering the rhino population in the area.

The governor said he was still waiting for Ultimate Safaris to give their view of the dispute before he proposes a solution.

Last week Cowley acknowledged receipt of the governor’s request, but said the three conservancies – Sorris Sorris, Doro Nawas, and Uibasen Twyfelfontein – would write a joint response to the governor’s letter.

He said he did not think the governor’s intervention would help resolve a dispute that is already subject to court proceedings.

Muharukua played down claims that there are only four rhinos – three adults and a calf – in the area, covering 98 000ha.

“Well, I have not seen a rhino . . . so that could be hearsay,” the governor said.

Cowley said: “Rhino numbers are with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the Save the Rhino Trust, and are not shared for security reasons. Maybe check with them.

“Regardless, the rhino in that area are the cornerstone of the nature-based wildlife economy in that area.”

Mashuna welcomed the governor’s visit and said his company would be willing to sponsor installing tracking devices on all the rhinos in the area to contribute to conservation efforts.

“In addition we could utilise their lodges to accommodate visitors and consultants visiting the mine,” he said.

Cowley said he was not aware of the governor’s visit to the mine and that conservancies had written in response to Muharukua.
– email:matthew@namibian.com.na

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