Maputo, 19 Aug (AIM) – The residents of Moatize district, in the central Mozambican province of Tete, have called for urgent measures to mitigate the negative environmental impact of coal mining.
In a letter addressed to the Indian multinational company Vulcan, which owns an enormous open cast coal mine in Moatize, the residents say “we are giving the firm a deadline of 30 days to solve the problem that has plagued the population for over 10 years, after which we reserve the right to take all legal measures to protest and effectively protect our individual and collective rights.”
The letter, published in Monday’s issue of the independent newsheet “Carta de Mocambique”, said “We were pleased to see the implementation of the coal mining project, led at the time by the Brazilian company Vale, because we believed (blindly) that it would only bring us more benefits, immeasurably increasing the happiness and pride that our parents and children have always had. They now live in a tense and bitter frustration of their expectations”. The letter includes photographs and signatures of the residents of the eight neighborhoods affected by suffocating clouds of coal dust.
The photographs also show the clouds of dust caused by blasting, as well as the polluted water sources.
The residents claim to be living in “a completely inhospitable environment, since the mining practices are not in line with any human experience defended and protected within the universal declaration of human rights. The situation compromises the immune system of adults and the health of future generations.”
“In addition to various illnesses, especially respiratory diseases, Vulcan-Mozambique’s actions threaten the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of soil and infrastructure (homes and commercial enterprises) built with sweat and sacrifice”, it says.
The residents call on Vulcan to respect “our rights under the constitution, and describe its polluting activities as “a real crime against humanity”.
Copies of the letter were also sent to the Attorney General’s Office, the Secretary of State for Tete province, the Provincial Directorates for the Environment and for Mineral Resources and Hydrocarbons and civil society organizations.
This is not the first time that the population of Moatize has expressed its displeasure at the impact of coal mining operations in the municipality. In 2018, a group of residents from the Bagamoio and Natchere neighborhoods invaded the mine, and paralyzed operations in one of the sections, in protest at the environmental and noise pollution caused by the explosions.
(AIM)
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