Mining in Swakop River halted

SAND mining in the Swakop River must be stopped immediately, the Ministry of Agriculture demanded in a letter this week.

A copy of the letter from the Ministry’s Department of Water Affairs has been sent to Swakopmund CEO Eckhart Demasius.The letter, signed by Agriculture Permanent Secretary Andrew Ndishishi, gives as reason for the mining halt the municipality’s violation of a 2001 agreement between it and the Department of Water Affairs.’This letter now serves as a cancellation to the agreement dated 26 March 2001,’ the letter states.An investigation team from Water Affairs found that sand mining was taking place ‘on the doorstep of plot owners’ and endangered existing infrastructure and sectors like irrigation and tourism. ‘It also negatively influences the environment due to dust and noise pollution while trees are left standing on small islands,’ it adds.The Ministry said the municipality should immediately re-apply for a sand-mining licence that must be accompanied by an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that should address all problems experienced in the Swakop River.The construction industries at Walvis Bay, Swakopmund and Henties Bay depend on sand from the Swakop River. The Ministry of Mines and Energy granted the municipality the right to issue mining licences in the riverbed nearly a decade ago.Swakopmund CEO Demasius said he would only act once he’s received the original letter. ‘I don’t trust copies. I want the real letter, not one which is making its rounds in the public,’ he said.An Agriculture Ministry source said Demasius should receive the original letter today. According to a representative of the construction industry at Swakopmund, halting the sand mining would detrimentally affect the coastal construction industry. ‘The industry will come to a standstill. There will be no sand for brick-making, concrete or any other building activity,’ he charged. ‘A lot of people will be affected, and it will cost millions.’The ‘sandstorm’ erupted in March when plot owners in the Swakop River, who threatened to take the matter to court, approached the Department of Water Affairs to investigate sand mining in the riverbed. Various proposals were put forward at a recent meeting between smallholders, construction companies and the municipality, but none were acceptable to all parties.