The Minister for Land and the Environment, Ivete Joaquim Maibaze, says there are no problems with building a housing complex in the mangrove swamp of Costa do Sol, Maputo city. In fact, according to the minister, who confirms that she authorized the construction, she says that it was based on environmental impact studies.

At issue is the project to build a luxury condominium in the Costa do Sol mangrove swamp, authorized by the Maputo City Council and the Ministry of Land and Environment, despite reservations expressed by the Attorney General's Office regarding its environmental viability. The project was denounced by the Center for Public Integrity (CIP) last Thursday.

Article 14 of Law no. 20/97 of October 1, which approves the Environment Law, prohibits the construction of housing infrastructures that have a significant negative impact on the environment.

Likewise, it is forbidden to grant DUATs (Right to Use and Enjoy Land) in total or partial protection zones, as is the case with mangroves, under the terms of article 9 of Law no. 19/97 of October 1 - the Land Law.

"Any work on the ground will always have an impact. What is recommended in the environmental impact studies, that's why we said there should be a multisectoral team responsible for this process, although the ultimate responsibility is ours, as a sector, to issue an environmental license," she said, quoted by RM.

There are some impacts on the soil, on the land, but the environmental impact and pre-feasibility studies assess these impacts and recommend what measures should be taken. It is on the basis of these measures that we, as a sector, made the decision to issue the environmental license," he said, without giving details of the study.

However, CIP, quoted by "Carta", reveals that the report warns of the possibility of a "reduction or loss of mangrove forests" as a result of the project. In other words, the mangroves of the Costa do Sol are about to be destroyed to make way for the real estate project.

CIP also says that the history of the contract goes back much further than the project to build the pedestrian circuit, designed in 2020 by the Health and Environment Department of the Maputo City Council.

Still quoted by "Carta", the organization says that this is a project that was submitted to the City Council during David Simango's last term, through a group of businessmen with interests in the real estate sector and associated with Top Logística, SA, the company that will build the luxury condominium.

However, the project was put on the back burner with the rise of Eneas Comiche, who began by questioning the DUAT granted to the company because it was a protected area. However, it is about to go ahead.