NEMC insists that Williamson liable for dam victims' compensation

 

Dump trucks at the Williamson diamond mine. (Image courtesy of Petra Diamonds.

By Bakari Kiango

Dar es Salaam. The National Environment Management Council (NEMC) director general, Dr Samuel Gwamaka, yesterday said the

Williamson Diamond Limited (WDL) was responsible for compensating victims of the tailings storage facility (TSF) breakage.

NEMC was responding to the fate of the victims just a day after handing the Sh1 billion penalty to WDL after investigations found the company behind negligence that led to the catastrophe.

The TSF burst that occurred on November 7, this year led to mud scattering to neighbouring villages and farms, therefore disrupting production activities as well as destruction of settlements and the environment.

Speaking to The Citizen yesterday, Dr Gwamaka said the Sh1 billion fine would go to the government coffers, clarifying that NEMC was the government’s representative on issues related to the environment.

“So, WDL was the one responsible for compensating residents who have been affected by the TSF burst in one way or another. The fine has been imposed because the mine has broken the law,” he said over the phone.

“We have instructed WDL to bring us a work plan which once they presented to us, we will know when the whole schedule including commencement and conclusion of evaluations and finally when the compensations will be effected to the victims,” he added.

But on Thursday, WDL lawyer Silvia Mulogo said the firm has urgently started doing assessment of the damaged areas, expressing optimism that valuation report could be available on January, 2022.

“The document will be submitted to the chief appraiser whose approval will pave the way for payments to be urgently effected to the victims,” said Ms Mulogo.

Earlier, Dr Gwamaka said the Sh1 billion fine was imposed after investigations revealed that the construction of the facility did not conform to approved designs.

“The company didn’t have a mine emergency response plan (MERP) and the facility construction did not adapt to the approved design by the then inspector of mines,” he said.

“The miner didn’t even conduct an engineering analysis to establish if the facility was capable of managing the tailings after the company resumed production. But, the nature of TSF, requires ongoing monitoring of something that wasn’t performed by the Williamson Diamond,” he added.

According to him, signs for the breach were discovered two months prior to the breakup and although the company was informed about the said signs, it did not stop production to pave the way for the facility repair.

“Therefore, NEMC has fined them the said amount, and we don’t need any recommendation from them concerning our findings as everything was crystal clear” he said.

They are supposed to pay the fine and make sure their undertakings are in line with the country’s environmental laws,” he insisted.