Phosphate issue will be resolved AG confident that the law will prevail The debacle around environmental clearance for marine phosphate mining was caused by miscommunication between various state organs, the attorney-general says. JANA-MARI SMITHThe missteps that led to the recent issuance and then withdrawal of an environmental clearance certificate for offshore phosphate mining does not undermine the government’s trust that the matter will be handled with due care in the next six months.
The recent bungling of the issuance of the certificate and the public outcry, locally and internationally, have prompted government to “reflect on the need to review the relevant legislation and work towards a common oceans policy …,” a statement from the office of the attorney-general stated yesterday.
The government is considering reviews and adoptions of “elaborate and more realistic timelines in the management of resources, for the benefit of not only the Namibian public, but also investors whom we as a government continue to invite into our economy to invest their precious financial and technical resources.”
Attorney-General Sacky Shanghala noted that the decision by the minister of environment and tourism to order the environmental commissioner and other relevant parties to finalise consultations about phosphate mining within the next six months puts the matter to rest for the time being.
“We urge all to support the consultations ordered, so as to augment the precautionary principle and environmental protection,” Shanghala stated.
Shanghala further noted that government’s view on the issue of phosphate mining is to “let the matter be adjudicated upon, let the process of ensuring that there is no doubt about irreversible environmental degradation be commenced as instructed by the minister of environment and tourism and hopefully this time, the process passes muster.”
The statement also addressed potential investors, noting that while the country welcomes them into all sectors “we do so however, with the knowledge that we are a country run on the basis of the rule of law as articulated in Article 1(1) of the Namibian constitution.”
He said the rule of law requires the country to stand by the principles “embedded into the rubric of our national legislation, such as the precautionary principle, due process etc.”
The statement took note of the fact that the mining licences issued to Namibia Marine Phosphates and LL Namibia Phosphates in 2010 and 2011, took place before the enactment of the Environmental Management Act, 2007, which was gazetted only in 2012. This added another obligation to the licence holders, in terms of the Act’s requirements.
Overall, the legislations relevant to the phosphate mining prospecting involved the Marine Resources Act, the Minerals Act as well as the Environmental Act.
“All three legislation deal with the conservation and management of the natural environmental specifically and generally, as well as regulate the harvesting of resources, mining activities etc specifically.”
As such, three ministries carried various responsibilities for different activities, all linking to the prospect of phosphate mining along Namibia’s coast.
“In the case of the environmental clearance certificate issued to Namibia Marine Phosphate, it is clear that along the way, somehow, there may have been instances of miscommunication and unfortunate postulations of opinions from various state organs, leading into what may be termed differing sectoral views on the matter of issuing the certificate,” Shanghala’s statement read.
He noted that considering government’s size and the complexities of the various legislations “these inadvertent gaps sometimes do occur, and it is clear that there is much to be done to further harmonise the processes for external as well as internal consultations on matters as important as these.”