Minister tears into Environmental Commissioner

Fisheries minister Inge Zaamwani is a woman unimpressed by environmental commissioner Timoteus Mufeti, particularly his issuance of an Environment Clearance Certificate (ECC) to Namibian Marine Phosphate (NMP) for its Sandpiper Marine Phosphate.

Zaamwani, a seasoned executive-turned-politician, is demanding the project be revoked and the company’s application be dismissed.

She goes further to accuse Mufeti of having misdirected himself in both law and fact.

The minister’s challenge is contained in a dossier seen by New Era, which paints a picture of serious disagreement between two government institutions responsible for managing Namibia’s natural resources.

At the centre of the dispute is Mufeti’s decision of 5 August 2026 to grant NMP an ECC for mining activities under Mining Licence 170 off Namibia’s west coast. According to the appeal, Zaamwani only became aware of the decision on 7 August after seeing a social media post.

The minister is challenging not only the approval itself but also every condition attached to it and the accompanying notification of decision.

Darkness

Zaamwani said Mufeti failed to properly consult the ministry before making the decision.

The minister argues that her ministry’s involvement was essential because the proposed project involves dredging phosphate-rich sediments from the seabed in waters approximately 180 to 250 metres deep.

The project falls within Namibia’s Exclusive Economic Zone, an area where marine resources are subject to state regulation and management.

She further alleges that Mufeti proceeded with key decisions concerning the scope, procedures and methods of the environmental assessment without consulting the fisheries ministry as required.

The minister considers this a serious procedural failure rather than a minor administrative omission.

Withheld

Namdeb further alleges that important technical and environmental reports were not provided to Zaamwani’s ministry for review and comment.

She added that the ministry was denied an opportunity to scrutinise information that was relevant to determining the possible consequences of marine phosphate mining.

This is significant because the environmental assessment process did not end with the submission of the original assessment. Zaamwani stated that additional reports and information were submitted during the process.

She added that, where new information is introduced, interested authorities should have an opportunity to consider it before the final decision is made.

Afterthought

One of the most serious allegations in the appeal concerns the environmental investigations that NMP would still be required to undertake despite already obtaining the ECC. The minister asserts that this is an investigation necessary to determine the project’s environmental impacts and should have informed the decision before the ECC was granted. Zaamwani found this baffling. “The fisheries ministry contends this information was required to inform the decision itself, and its deferral violates the precautionary principle. Mufeti could not use conditions to defer the very investigation and evaluative work that had to inform whether the project should be authorised,” she said.

More so, the conditions attached to the ECC cannot repair what she considers fundamental defects in the environmental assessment.

“The vague, contradictory and unlawful conditions cannot cure the defects in the assessment and decisions,” the appeal states.

Misguided

Zaamwani’s appeal repeatedly challenges Mufeti’s reasoning, accusing him of having ‘misdirected’ himself on both legal and factual issues.

The minister’s position is that the environmental commissioner failed to properly apply the legal requirements governing environmental assessment and consultation.

The appeal, therefore, does not merely ask for individual conditions of the ECC to be changed. It seeks to have the entire decision set aside and NMP’s application dismissed.

The minister also raises concerns about the proposed creation and involvement of new technical structures, including the Governmental Technical Task Team (GTTT) and the Marine Environmental Scientific Advisory Committee.

Zaamwani, furthermore, questions whether these bodies can lawfully assume functions that fall within the statutory responsibilities of the environmental commissioner.

The minister argued that technical advisory structures cannot simply take over statutory decision-making powers vested in the environmental commissioner by law. Zaamwani, therefore, questions who will ultimately make decisions about the environmental acceptability of the project and whether such decisions can be delegated to structures without the statutory authority to make them.

Under scrutiny

The 23-page appeal goes beyond the environmental assessment and questions the legal status of Mining Licence 170 itself.

The licence was issued in 2011, before the Environmental Management Act came into operation in 2012.

Zaamwani’s legal argument is that transitional provisions under the Act required the holder of the mining licence to take specified steps within the prescribed period.

The appeal questions whether those requirements were met, and whether the mining licence retained the legal basis necessary for the subsequent environmental approval process.

Veteran politician and former Cabinet minister Jerry Ekandjo, in a recent interview with New Era, called on the government to halt and thoroughly scrutinise marine phosphate exploration.

Ekandjo warned that Namibia must not sacrifice its fisheries and marine ecosystem for promises of jobs and foreign investment.

“The nation’s fisheries are a collective heritage that must be protected for the future,” he said.

Marine scientists have reportedly raised concerns about the adequacy of environmental information used in assessing the project, including possible consequences associated with sediment disturbance, marine contamination and the wider safety of fish products.

These concerns add weight to Zaamwani’s argument that environmental information must be comprehensive before such a project receives approval.

Efforts to get comment from Mufeti yielded no results, as his phone went unanswered.

The environment ministry, however, confirmed receiving the appeal.

–awakudumo@nepc.com.na

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