A City of Windhoek resolution to halt sand and gravel mining within its jurisdiction has sparked anger among Groot Aub sand miners and former employees. 

They accused the council of killing their income. Sand miners who have been mining along the Groot Aub’s Usib River are allegedly on the verge of losing property to commercial banks, as they struggle to pay back loans for equipment, while many jobs have been lost.

Rudiger Gentz is one of the sand miners who are in limbo after he was verbally informed about the suspension of mining activities in the Usib River by the City without a clear direction on the way forward. 

Victimisation 

He has been legally mining sand and gravel along the Usib River since 2017, and has employed 32 local people.

Gentz’s target market was the local construction companies, although in most cases, he mined sand and gravel for his then-booming brickmaking business, which he ran concurrently with the mine. Gentz claimed harsh and unfair treatment from the municipality, and victimisation. He claimed that mine owners and residents of Groot Aub were not consulted on the moratorium on sand and gravel mining.

“It could be best if they consulted us first for us to prepare ourselves and plan the way forward, but that did not happen. There was neither
formal written communication nor a notice; they only sent law enforcement to deliver that verbal instruction and threaten us with arrest if we failed to adhere to their order and continued,” he said. Gentz complained that the City of Windhoek moratorium has negatively impacted his business, for which he claimed to have injected a bank loan of N$2.5 million that he is now struggling to pay back. What angers him most is that his business was in its infancy when the City’s moratorium struck in 2018. He claimed to have invested about N$700 000 in purchasing the transformer from NamPower that brings electricity to his plant, while the rest of the money was used to procure tractors and machines that are gathering dust at his abandoned site. “We are currently struggling to pay back the loan for the bank not to repossess my trucks and machinery,” he said.

Upon visiting the site this week, New Era discovered expensive mining tools and equipment such as a rotating wheel, excavators and dredging machines, some of which are still relatively new, gathering dust at the site, with no proper security, making them vulnerable to vandalism.

Unfair 

Ruben /Khoeseb, whose mining licence was supposed to expire in 2027, also registered his disappointment with what he described as the City’s unfair moratorium on sand mining.

He asserts that although his mining licence and environmental clearance certificate are still valid, the City has discontinued his business.

“I am aware of the moratorium on sand and gravel mining, but that only applies to the new applicants whose licences expired in 2018. According to the municipal council minutes of 24 October 2019 (paragraph 5), the old permit holders will not be affected by the moratorium,” he said. /Khoeseb, whose mining equipment is still idling at his site, told New Era that he has been financially hard-hit. Sand mining was his family’s only source of income. He reveals that his family now relies on the rental money of some tractors he leases out.

Both Gentz and /Khoeseb’s plea is to have the moratorium lifted, as they strongly believe that the mining will create employment opportunities for hundreds of unemployed youth in the area. “The City of Windhoek should allow the sand mining to continue. It was a source of income for my husband, who ever since his retrenchment, has failed to get a job,” said Aili Hauwanga. Hauwanga, a resident of Oshakati, a location in Groot Aub close to Gentz’s sand mining site, told this journalist that back then, she used to sell kapana and vetkoek to the miners, and ever since the closure of the mine, she has also struggled to make ends meet. “Sand mining was really the source of income for many young people here, and it’s unfortunate it closed down because some people were not happy with the noise pollution, and seeing their sand leaving the town,” Wikkie Williams (56) another resident of Oshakati location, said.

Understanding

The City of Windhoek acknowledges the concerns raised by the affected community and businesses regarding the impact of the moratorium. “We understand that the decision has had economic consequences, including job losses. The council is actively working on solutions to mitigate these effects, such as exploring alternative economic activities, and providing support for those impacted. Our priority is to balance economic development with environmental stewardship,” said City spokesperson Lydia Amutenya.

Municipal land

She confirmed the moratorium on sand and gravel mining within the Windhoek jurisdiction, stating that there is a council resolution (CR:259/10/2019) regarding the discontinuation of sand mining activities in the specified area. She said the council deemed it necessary to pause operations to address environmental degradation, and implement a more effective regulatory framework.

“The council has been inundated with
complaints from residents, expressing dissatisfaction with the current regulation of sand mining,” she said. Amutenya points out non-compliance with permit conditions, lack of enforcement, minimal benefits to the community, noise, dust, irregular operational hours, damage to road infrastructure, and inadequate rehabilitation practices as some of the public concerns brought forth. In response to these complaints, Amutenya told New Era that compliance audits were conducted by the City, and given the complexity of the issues raised, the council has instituted a moratorium as per CR 252/10/2019 on the consideration of any new sand mining applications. 

“This moratorium is intended to give the council sufficient time to thoroughly investigate the concerns until all major issues related to sand mining activities in the Groot Aub settlement have been addressed,” she said.

This decision came into effect in October 2019, following a comprehensive review of the environmental impact of ongoing and past mining activities. The City of Windhoek now holds jurisdiction over the regulation of sand mining activities in Groot Aub following the handover of the settlement in 2017, as provided for under Section 94 of the Local Authorities Act of 1992.

Discrimination 

The sand miners have accused the City’s moratorium of being discriminatory in nature, as it has only affected black miners, while sand mining businesses owned by whites continue operations. Although the City sand mining policy mandated it to regulate the sand mining activities within the 70-kilometre radius, the enforcement has only targeted Groot Aub, and they feel it is discriminatory and unfair. 

Amutenya denied the allegations. “Claims of selective enforcement made by operators are unfounded. Compliance audits have been conducted for operations in Groot Aub since November 2017, extending these audits to the rest of Windhoek, except for those who mine on private land”. She further maintained that all operators across the city were informed through public notices that sand mining and prospecting operations in Groot Aub must cease immediately for prospectors and miners to comply with council policy.

“The moratorium applies uniformly across all sand mining activities within the jurisdiction, irrespective of the operators’ racial or ethnic backgrounds. There is no basis for claims that the moratorium targets only black miners while allowing white-owned businesses to continue operations. The council welcomes the reporting of suspected or unauthorised sand mining activities undertaken, as the council does not apply selective enforcement in our operation,” she said. She told New Era that all companies have complied with the moratorium in Groot Aub, as there are no sand mining activities taking place.