Maputo — A group of about 400 activists of the environmental NGO "Livaningo" took to the streets in the southern Mozambican city of Matola on Saturday to demand the end of pollution by local companies, particularly the Portuguese-owned cement company "Cimentos de Mocambique".

Food producing companies in Matola and nearby residents have been complaining of the uncontrolled pollution by this company, which prejudices their businesses and their lives. On occasion, the factory has belched clouds of cement dust into the atmosphere, blanketing the surroundings with a fine white powder.

The march was particularly marked by the absence of the bodies that ought to be intervening to control pollution, such as the Environment Ministry and the Matola municipal authorities.

The demonstrators distributed leaflets and were carrying posters demanding that local companies be more responsible towards environmental issues. They also insisted that "Cimentos de Mocambique" must respond to the local people's complaints.

Those materials reminded the companies of their responsibility to guarantee public health and a municipality free of pollution.

"Guided by (the wish for) a better future we say: no to pollution", read one of the posters, while others read: "we demand action to check pollution", and "cleanness and pure air is part of the fight against poverty".

The decision to organize the march was taken during a recent seminar that gathered representatives of "Livaningo" and of some of the local communities who areaffected by pollution.

On the motives for the march, Livaningo's programme officer Mauricio Sulila explained that it is not normal that, in a country where there are specific laws on the management of the environment, there are companies like "Cimentos de Mocambique" that operate in ways that offend public health, apparently ignoring all calls for them to adopt new technologies to prevent pollution.

He noted that, even during the demonstration, the plant was continuing to pollute the environment.

Sulila said that it was because of the local complaints that Livaningo decided to conduct a fact finding survey to be used in their fight. This study concluded that "Cimentos de Mocambique" is the biggest polluter in the area.

"It was thus that we decided to carry out this march, to demand the necessary attention", he said, adding that the idea is to call for a response from the company's management, from the municipal authorities and from the Environment Ministry.