Brigitte Weidlich
5 December 2008
DEFUNCT textile giant Ramatex, which was to kick-start Namibia's industrial era on a large scale with an investment of over N$1 billion, has left a mountain of pollutants in the form of sludge, messy waste, leaking ponds and garbage on its 60-hectare premises, a new report reveals.
Wastewater was illegally discharged into the municipal sewerage system on several occasions, the report states.
Ramatex was liquidated this year after its sales of garments to international markets dropped, leaving some 6 000 workers jobless.
Two subsidiaries, Rhino Garments and Tai Wah Garments on the same premises, were closed even earlier.
The post-closure environmental impact assessment (EIA) was completed in October and scheduled to be discussed at a closed-door stakeholder meeting at the Windhoek municipality yesterday.
The report notes that it would cost at least N$1,5 million to clean the waste, which consists of 12 tons of hazardous waste, 120 000 cubic metres of wastewater, 75 tons of other waste and 5 000 cubic metres of sludge and salts.
In documentation shown to The Namibian, Ramatex's 99-year lease agreement stipulates that the company undertakes and commits itself to comply and execute sound environmental practices in and around the property.
"The company shall, within a reasonable time, move towards and comply with the International Standard for Environment ISO 14001 and to adhere and comply with its Social Accountability Policy," the agreement states.
This was not done.
"Following cessation of operations a significant volume of wastewater of approximately 120 000 cubic metres remained in nine of the ten ponds," the independent EIA states.
The best way to get rid of the waste is to allow it to evaporate, the report recommends.
"The residues from the ponds and three tanks nearby would include 480 tons of salts after evaporation [which must also be removed]."
The 5 000 tons of sludge and salts left behind should either be moved to the Khomasdal landfill or a "tailor-made encapsulation facility" should be constructed on the Ramatex site, the experts recommend in the EIA.
Building and lining the special facility would cost N$1,5 million.
One sludge sample taken from Pond 8 on the premises showed a high concentration of metals like arsenic, cadmium and copper.
"There can be no doubt that Ramatex disposed of wastewater in fashions that contravened the national laws and the lease conditions.
Abundant evidence exists to show that wastewater was disposed of through irrigation to land within and external to the Ramatex site, and this practice certainly contributed to the contamination of the local streams and other water bodies, including Goreangab Dam," the experts state.
"There is also suggestive evidence that some process wastewater was discharged to sewer, in contravention of the regulations and lease conditions.
In addition, the wastewater ponds on the site leak markedly.
"The Ramatex operations undoubtedly contaminated surface water and groundwater within the site perimeter and in the surrounding area, including the nearby Goreangab Dam, during the period that wastewater was being produced between 2003 to 2007," the 60-page report states.
"The owners of the Ramatex facility were clearly guilty of gross mismanagement in this respect, and infringements of the lease conditions were regular and consistent."
Luckily, the polluting effect on the groundwater in the vicinity of Ramatex and on the Goreangab Dam was "relatively minor", according to the report.
The legislative platform in Namibia was of generally poor quality in relation to environmental issues but the activities of the Ramatex and the other two companies "clearly infringed either the legislative requirements in force, or the lease conditions, or both", the EIA report notes.
The report cites several times that municipal officials had great difficulty obtaining access to the premises of Ramatex over the five years of its operations.
"They denied access to the site for City of Windhoek representatives infringes various clauses of the lease agreement and also implies that the regulatory control of the environmental impacts of the Ramatex site was essentially impossible," the report stated.
It recommended that monitoring of the groundwater quality in the vicinity of the Ramatex site should continue.
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