Tanzania 
Chemical waste destroys land in Tanzania

Misanet.com / The Guardian, 14 May - More than four hectares of land behind Kihonda Industrial area in Tanzania's Morogoro Municipality is now barren because two factories have been discharging liquid waste in the area.

Only red sandy soil now remains in the area after all the vegetation has been destroyed by the chemicals contained in the liquid waste. The chemicals have made deep gullies where pools of the waste formed.

Some of the waste overflows and makes rivulets in different directions, destroying the environment even beyond the area. A brownish red liquid trickles in the wake of the main flow of the liquid waste in small streams.

Ironically, less than 100 metres from where the waste is discharged, there are oxidation ponds into which the effluent could be emptied. Youths from a nearby settlement have made pans into which the waste collects and forms a heavy liquid. 

The youths scoop the liquid and boil it in large metal pots to make soap cakes. The cakes are sold to villagers and residents in the Morogoro Municipality.

In an exclusive interview with The Guardian at the site on Saturday, the Acting Municipal Director, Anna Lyimo, said that the liquid waste came from Abood Soap factory and Moproco oil mills both of which are owned by Abood Group of Companies of Morogoro.

- We have discussed the problem with the owner of the factories and we have advised him to design a better method of discharging the waste... but he has not taken any steps, she explained.

Lyimo who is also the Municipal's Economist said there were fears that those who are engaged in the re-manufacture of soap from the waste could be affected by the chemicals. 

The method they use is "primitive" and they have no protective gear, she noted.

- Even those who use the soap might also be affected because the product is made under unhygienic conditions, Lyimo noted. "The effects might not show now but they will definitely be experienced some years later."

Officials from the National Environment Management Council also visited the place where effluent continues to destroy the environment.

Commenting on the situation, the NEMC Director General, Dr Magnus Ngoile said he was disappointed that investors were less concerned with environmental conservation and only cared about their businesses.

- I don't see why the liquid waste should be discharged here when the factory owner could have emptied it right into the pond, he noted. "If he discharged the waste properly, there would be no chance for the youths here to engage in this business which threatens the health of the local community."

Dr Ngoile told the Acting Municipal Director to meet the owner of the factories and insist that he employs a safer method of disposing of the waste.

- Meanwhile I will send an expert on liquid waste disposal who will work with the municipal expert to see how we could solve the problem, Dr Ngoile explained. "This is an issue which requires immediate action so as to save both the environment and people who live around this area."

Efforts to get comments from the owner of the two factories will continue today after failing to get him during the weekend.

By Deodatus Mfugale

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