Public questions Govt on uranium rush

THE public is questioning Government’s ability to handle the uranium rush in Namibia.

This emerged from the seven public meetings held as part of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the industry.
Dr Peter Tarr of the Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment (SAIEA), which is carrying out the SEA, said many participants at the meetings ‘do not think Government can handle this thing’.
Tarr said people believe the existing mining of diamonds and granite, for example, is not being managed very well and so question Government’s ability to regulate the uranium industry.
However, Tarr added that meeting participants were ‘not cynical about the will of Government’ to handle the project but said it simply lacked the know-how.
The consensus at the meetings was that this problem could be solved by involving civil society.
Tarr quoted some examples given at the gatherings, for example the Gobabeb research station taking over some of the environmental monitoring of the industry while the Chamber of Commerce and Industry could look at the economic side.
As long as the authorities involve others, people believe the rush can be a success, Tarr said.
He said many participants mentioned the disastrous Ramatex project as an example of their fears for the uranium rush.
Tarr said Ramatex was an example of a project that was ‘politically oversold and not adequately monitored’ and a case where Namibia had been ‘taken for a ride’.
He said the scariest scenario for people was one where mining companies opened and then left before rehabilitating their sites due to unforeseen economic factors, as happened with Ramatex.
Participants therefore suggested that a fund be created which companies could not touch until they started cleaning up their sites.
In general the public expects a firm hand from Government in making foreign companies stick to local rules.
Other key concerns were about health risks caused by radiation and the contamination of water.
On the environmental front, people expressed fears of radioactive material being brought back into the country and dumped in the desert.
Tarr said there was no evidence to substantiate these rumours.
He pointed out that Article 95L of the Constitution specifically forbids any imports of toxic waste.
The main hope of people, especially in the Erongo Region, is that the uranium-mining industry would create jobs, either directly or in industries connected to mining.
The public can participate in the study until June.
Tarr invites any groups or individuals that feel they have a stake or interest in the uranium industry to contact the SAIEA through Morgan Hauptfleisch at (061) 220 579 or morgan.
hauptlfleisch@saiea.com