A study by the Center for Public Integrity (CIP) reveals that the establishment of the Chinese company Haiyu Mining, which has been exploiting heavy sands for more than ten years in Angoche, Nampula province, is causing serious environmental problems that are driving communities into poverty.

In a publication by VOAThe CIP points to the destruction of native vegetation, the existence of abandoned pits and changes in water and soil quality as problems that directly affect the communities hosting the project.

According to CIP's executive director, Edson Cortez, "the people most affected agreed with the study", because it portrays a reality that the authorities are unaware of, a sign of "a serious problem in the country's extractive industry, which is the lack of supervision".

Lopes Cocotela, leader of one of the communities where the resource is exploited in Angoche, says that since the project was set up the access roads "are still degraded and when it rains they fill up with water and mud, and in dry weather we live in the dust"

The presentation of the study, which also mentions the company's failure to fulfill certain social responsibilities, such as building basic social infrastructure for health, education and sport, and the state's weak commitment to overseeing environmental restoration actions.

However, during the presentation of the study, the local government representative, Salomão Francisco, said that the information in the study was not real and explained that the authorities had responded to the concerns of the communities.

However, Juyi Li, a representative of the mining company, says that despite the flaws, there are improvements in the interventions in favor of the communities.

"We at Haiyu Mining, before 2017, didn't do very well, but as of 2018 we are a new page, and I think some members of civil society recognize this when they arrive in the communities in Angoche," said Li.

(Photo DR)