MAPUTO, Oct 23 (The African Portal) – The Mozambican authorities have fined Chinese investors 14.5 million meticais (about 227,500 US dollars) for their attempts to set up a cement factory in Chibabava district, in the central province of Sofala, without obtaining the necessary environmental license.
According to a report in Thursday’s issue of the independent daily “O Pais”, this decision follows an investigation which found that the Chinese company Shun Xin Yuan Africa Investment had pushed ahead with its cement projects in violation of Mozambique’s environmental legislation and without paying compensation to dozens of peasant households whose land has been occupied by the Chinese company.
According to a document issued by the National Environmental Control Agency (AQUA), the company has been fined 14.5 million meticais, since it had cleared land for the proposed factory without any authorization. It had cut down trees and compacted the soil without an environmental license.
In addition to the fine, AQUA ordered the company to shut down its operations. This embargo will only be lifted when Shun Xin Yuan Africa presents an environmental license, backed up by an Environmental Impact Study or an updated Environmental Management Plan.
Representatives of the Chinese company refused to comment on the actions ordered by the government.
The company had planned to lay the first stone for the factory a fortnight ago, but protests by the farmers whose land it had occupied forced a postponement.
Credit: AIM
