The Gambia Government has publicly thrown its weight behind a Chinese owned fish processing factory accused of dumping toxic sewage into Gambian waters.
Golden Lead Import and Export Company in the coastal fishing village of Gunjur, Kombo South, is accused by environmental activist and residents of Gunjur of dumping waste into the sea which is causing intense bad odour and making people sick as well as destroying the country’s fish reserves and polluting the waters.
But Demba Ali Jawo, spokesman of the Government of the Gambia, said the sewage that is being dumped into the sea poses no environmental hazard either to the community or to the country’s flora and fauna.
Writing on his Facebook page, the Information minister said: “The government is of course as concerned as everyone else about any threat to the environment in Gunjur and everywhere else in the country. Therefore when people started raising concern about possible pollution of the environment by the discharge of the waste from the plant, the National Environment Agency (NEA) not only made sure that the plant properly treated the waste before it was discharged into the sea but the Agency also took samples of the treated waste to one of the most reputable labs in Africa, the Pasteur Institute in Dakar for testing, and the results showed that the treated waste was not toxic and therefore posed no environmental hazard either to the community or to the flora and fauna.
“However, the NEA did not only stop there but insisted that the waste pipe is extended to a minimum of 350 metres into the sea in order to minimize any possibility of the waste getting back on the beach, and we are made to understand that the pipe has gone well beyond that distance.
“Therefore, the people of the community of Gunjur and its surroundings are being reassured by the government that there is no threat to the environment from the activities of Golden Lead plant and that the NEA and all those concerned will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that any possible breach of the status quo will be promptly addressed.”
The government has flipped flopped on its position since the environmental debate began. Last May, President Barrow publicly condemned the activists of Golden Lead accusing it of failing to correct waste management and disposal practices.
Writing on his Facebook page at the time, the President said: “I have followed developments relating to the environmental pollution of some of our coastal villages in the Gambia, particularly in the area of Gunjur Beach. My government officials have visited the Golden Lead Company in Gunjur and have concluded that the company has not respected proper environmental requirements as they are expected to under correct waste management and disposal practices.
“It has also been brought to my attention that there has been some illegal fishing in the area, with some fishermen using the wrong equipment. This is resulting in the catching and dumping of juvenile fish along the beach.
“Business practices must be environmentally friendly. We shall take all necessary action to ensure that current and future economic operators in the Gambia abide by the code of conduct expected of them.”
The Gambia Government’s decision to publicly back Golden Lead is likely to infuriate environmental activists and residents of Gunjur. Some weeks ago, frustrated with the damage to their coast line and bad odour from the fish plant, Gunjur residents took the law on to themselves and dug out the sewage pipes.
However, the pipes have were refitted by the company which has since continued with processing fish dumping sewage into the sea.
Folks looking at history of NEA and Gambian Government rendezvous with Golden Lead, they are not a neutral party in this saga. It is unnatural to pump waste, whatever waste into a sea. This is unprecedented in the history of the Gambia. The Dakar test was completely handled by a partisan party so it’s conclusion need to be published scientifically to merit our consideration as true and fair. I don’t trust this government anymore as long as you have business moguls like Alagie Conteh who is the chief architect of Gunjurs environmental destruction in all shapes and form micromanaging President Barrow’s politiks.
Demba Ali Jawo: Minister of Information & Warrior in The Struggle says this, and ONE MUST HAVE TRUST IN SUCH A MAN:-
“The government is of course as concerned as everyone else about any threat to the environment in Gunjur and everywhere else in the country. Therefore when people started raising concern about possible pollution of the environment by the discharge of the waste from the plant, the National Environment Agency (NEA) not only made sure that the plant properly treated the waste before it was discharged into the sea but the Agency also took samples of the treated waste to one of the most reputable labs in Africa, the Pasteur Institute in Dakar for testing, and the results showed that the treated waste was not toxic and therefore posed no environmental hazard either to the community or to the flora and fauna”.
I appreciated that Dr. Amadou Scattred-Janneh and “Activists” disagree with the Minister, but I have faith in Demba Ali Jawo.
D A Jawo is another disappointment and he will live to regret it. He seems disconnected with the reality and was just parroting the same political nartatives dictated by this clueless government.
The government is aware of the bad smell that come from the waste and they have stopped in the dumping in Kotu why it shouod be allowed to dump in Gunjur sea.
Lamin, there should be NO DUMPING in Gunjur. If the pipe goes 350 metres into the sea – and remains under water – NO SMELL FROM THE PIPES should reach Gunjur. If FISH PROCESSING WASTE is to be dumped, then the waste should be taken 2 miles INTO the sea – not dumped in Gunjur or Kotu.
BUT I THINK THE MINISTER AND GOVERNMENT AGREE WITH ALL THIS.
A precedent may have been set with dumping sewage into Gambian waters.
Readers may recall the Banjul sewage dump site at Bund Road (BOKISS/PA MACHINE) where all night soil in Banjul was being dumped into the mangrove swamps.
With the advent of the GUC/SOGEA sewage project where Banjul household were connected to a central sewage network, the discharge pipe was reportedly placed into the sea off of the Atlantic Hotel in Banjul.
The former Swiss Cold Stores by the Albert market in Banjul also discharged sewage into the waters off of Banjul.
However, the foregoing examples don’t obviate the need to treat all effluent prior to discharge into Gambian waters. Especially now that we are armed with knowledge of best practices in environmental management.
I do believe that Golden Lead and all other operators of ground based facilities should, in the interest of good stewardship and compliance, be brought to the table to work out a verifiable system of sewage management. The approach must be about settling minimum standards to guide the way forward.
Some questions still need answering:
1. If the waste being pumped into the sea is not toxic, what is the reason for the dying fish and marine life? {Something unfriend to marine life is doing it. let the government tell us.}
2. If the waste is being properly treated by the plant, what’s responsible for the foul odour? Surely, that is either indicative of non compliance with waste management regulations or a woeful inadequacy of the {waste management} regulations. If the latter is the case, then it needs to be addressed ASAP. The people of Gunjur, or anyone for that matter, shouldn’t be expected to put up with foul smell 24/7 non stop.
However, the activists should stop resorting to unlawful acts/actions to resolve this problem. They must be law abiding and use only legal, legitimate means to achieve their objectives.
Bax,
your questions are essentiel and one wonders why the government can’t think as clearly as you do.
Or is it just betraying the people it is assumed to protect?
My in-law, just a a quick glimpse at Dr Amadou Scattred Janneh’s FACEBOOK page and he plans to continue the campaign against the “environmental pollution. Some statements imply UNLAWFUL revolutionary action:-
Amadou Scattred Janneh
21 April at 18:31 •
“If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.” -Thomas Jefferson
Coach-Pasamba Jow
“One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” Dr. King
“Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.” Howard Zinn
“An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law” Dr. King
Amadou Scattred Janneh
21 April at 18:29 •
OPTIONS UNDER CONSIDERATION:
1. Confronting Gambia Government officials responsible for the destruction of our environment throughout the world. #US #Europe etc.
2. Protesting at key government agencies in The Gambia, including the NEA. #Soon
3. Taking our case to the international stage, including the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights. #WeKnowHow
BUT THE MINISTER AND GOVERNMENT STATE THAT NO ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE IS TAKING PLACE. WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION: DO ALL GUNJURIANS AGREE WITH DR JANNEH – OR IS IT JUST SOME ACTIVISTS?
Undoubtedly, safe environmental practices, regulations & uphold, through ad hoc & continuous intermittent inspections & regular monitoring are the key requirements for effective environmental protection everywhere….
The current government & Golden Lead WILL BE GONE eventually if they (both) fail to address this menace fully as urgently required; Nobody is &/ can be bigger than the Community (Gambia)….
Nobody will be let to continue & sustain this Golden Lead illegality for long in Gunjur; what one won’t, can’t & mustn’t be able to do in China & in a law-abiding society anywhere else in the world…
Whosoever has hands in gloves in contributing to the destruction of environment in Gunjur must know Gambian history & humanity in general won’t be kind to the individual/s; all will be done within our means to make a permanent stop in ALL & ANY WAYS POSSIBLE….
Comrades on the ground in Gunjur aren’t alone; the whole Gambia stands in solidarity all the way; the March will go all the way down to the wire no matter how it takes; our sacrosanct lives are linked, intertwined with the ecology, ecosystem & the flora & fauna as living “organisms” which AREN’T neither for sale at any prices NOR for negotiations at no points/time/periods….
The government (NDEA) has a job to do as required, to stop the abuse & destruction of our lives in this Golden Lead Illegality as Mandatory & incumbent upon them REGARDLESS; which superseded the individualistic personal interests of those currently playing the long ball with decisions making in the government on this issue in particular….
The clock is ticking; there’ll be no relenting; more concerted pressure will continue to the end; there’s no retreat nor surrender; SURE…
God bless Gambia….
Gentlemen, I would urge that cool heads prevail here.
Unless one is armed with extensive knowledge of sewage management and/or environmental science, one cannot put on blinkers to adopt a sine qua non position that is pegged on to what’s unproven. Granted that the practice of emitting effluent of any sort, be they point source or non-point source, into fragile ecosystems should be curtailed.
In the western and other parts of the world, we keep learning to tackle hazardous environmental practices as we go along in the interest of refining best practices. From the subject of Genex and other Dioxins in effluent, swine waste from hog farms to waste applications such as animal slurry on farmlands as fertilizer substitutes, the situation remains as dynamic as it can ever be. However, parties to environmental degradation do make it to the table to find acceptable ways of resolving what may initially look like daunting challenges. Only when parties to the dispute come to the table for the object of sincerely finding answers do we realize that the subject of mutual co-existence couldn’t be taken out of the discussion.
Where we let self-serving individuals and activists hijack the agenda, we painfully come to the realization that vital investments in under-served communities, particularly in not-so-well endowed African countries where employment creation must take center stage, must be nurtured. When I read statements such as environmental rapists, bloodsuckers, environmental dumping on top of the China bashing, I can’t help thinking that the detractors are looking to throw a wrench in the works for their own selfish ends.
The government cannot be seen to be taking sides or flip flopping on the matter of Golden Lead but must act seriously and sincerely to quickly bring all parties to the table to address the subject of waste management at primarily at the Golden Lead, other plants at Denton Bridge or at any location in The Gambia. Waste treatment has become both a science and an art that requires expertise to deliver on the goods.
That’s the reason that every county, province, municipality plus all emitters of effluent under well meaning leadership are required by law to invest in waste management services to protect the health of citizens and to preserve fauna and flora for posterity. This discussion must not be about philosophical issues or semantics but about what is sensibly sustainable under our circumstances in The Gambia.
We do not have the luxury of being wholesale environmentalists, saber rattlers, steadfast proponents of organic foods and/or stubborn proponents of environmentally friendly methods of agriculture when we clearly do not have the tools and/or resources in Africa to feed our nations in the first place. Not coming to the table together with the attendant anti-China stance doesn’t help to steer our The Gambia’s bid to attract foreign direct investment either.
In spite of apparent inconsistencies on the regulatory front, all parties to this debate must keep talking expeditiously for the object of finding a comprehensive solution to waste management at this or any other plant if we are to sustain investments in local communities.
After all, who would be the winners if the Golden Lead plant was to be shuttered??
Very wise counsel indeed, perhaps the best way forward. Threats and aggression will not lead to a solution. The best way to ensure the safety of the citizens and protect the environment is through dialogue. We the people must convince Golden Lead to be a responsible visitor and the government officials to be honest and focused in discharging their duties. Those that love this country must never call for illegal or violent acts to remedy a wrong.
Indeed Dr & Pjalo. The “China Bashing” rhetoric is counter-productive because MOST African countries now see China as a valued “Development-Partner”. Clearly USA/EU will, as Dr Janneh expects, be sympathetic to “China Bashing” from an ideological point of view, but that won’t sway The Gambia Government. What is need, as Pjalo says, is to ensure that Golden Lead takes all the necessary measures to avoid any harm to the environment – and for this they need to adhere strictly to the guidelines set by The Gambia Government through the National Environmental Agency.
Dr. Isatou Sarr,
I would totally agree with you if there weren’t the fact that for no less than one year
the scandal is widely known and nothing happened to stop this environmental crime.
I have to agree with Lamin Darboe; about Demba Jawo; This is not the Demba Jawo we know, admire and respect. A man who took grave risks under Jammeh/ Could it be that he see’s peace and an uncomfortable conformity as being preferable to the dark days and nights of Jammeh ? If so ? Then Mr Jawo is selling himself and the aspirations of the Gambian people short. For most of us Mr Jawo was Presidential material. How such a vision fades without a murmur. For me this is very sad.
Mike it’s one thing to disagree with ones position and articulate yours. It is another thing entirely to issue veiled threats. What are you agreeing with. I always assume that dialogue is your preference.
My good doctor; I agree with Lamin Darboe : He puts the issues succinctly. Where in my opinion do I utter a “veiled threat” ?
WE expect a Presidential quasi democracy to be decisive ; That would mean a full investigation by qualified agents of government with proof and evidence,before The President commits to his qualified opinion. It is obvious the President gave his first opinion as a matter of opinion and not based on facts. The second opinion countermands the first opinion and is possibly more reliable. I have spoken with a Gunjur resident who claims the smell is intolerable and that there is community anger. Perhaps Barrow should relocate to Gunjur and live with the pollution. Then maybe he can then give an opinion based upon local knowledge.
All this confusion is evident in many aspects of this transitional government. The sooner it puts up in an election the better. It is unfortunate that our eminent Journalist and senior spokesperson Demba Jawo is caught up in such indecisiveness. After 22 years of struggle and danger, I would hope he would not settle for this and start to comment again. His wisdom is sorely missed.