Outjo donkey abattoir off the table
Plans to build a donkey abattoir in Outjo have folded.
Fu-Hai Trading Enterprises, reportedly co-owned by Swakopmund estate agent Shane Quinton Hangula and a Chinese business partner identified only as 'Mr Chengdabiek', has pulled the plug on plans to operate a donkey abattoir at Outjo.
Fu Hai Trading instructed Quivertree Consulting, the company hired to conduct the mandatory environmental impact assessment last year, that they would no longer proceed with the abattoir plan following a review of the draft EIA, sources told Namibian Sun. Svenja Garrard of Quivertree briefly confirmed this development yesterday.
Garrard declined to comment further on the matter, saying that relevant information would be shared as soon as possible.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism's department of environmental affairs confirmed that Fu Hai Trading Enterprises had applied for an environmental clearance certificate last year.
But a departmental spokesperson said this week that the “Outjo proponent has expressed intent to withdraw their application, although they have not done so officially as yet.” Namibian Sun was informed off the record that 'Mr Chengdabiek' had given instructions for the company's abattoir equipment and deep freezers to be sold.
When Namibian Sun reached Shane Quinton Hangula on his cellphone yesterday, he claimed that the phone reception was bad and he could not hear the questions. Further attempts to contact him failed.
It remains unclear what the exact reasons for the scrapping of the planned abattoir were.
Initial indications are that findings contained in the draft EIA led to the abandonment of the project because it was not economically viable.
The assessment apparently found that Fu Hai Trading Enterprises' plan to slaughter 70 donkeys per day was likely unsustainable and that a census of the country's donkey population was first needed.
None of the senior officials at the Outjo municipality were available for comment yesterday. The municipality had fully supported the controversial donkey abattoir from the start. It argued that a donkey abattoir would bring investment and employment to the town.
Locally and internationally, many opposed the donkey abattoir, questioning its sustainability and the ripple effects it would have on Namibian society.
Another environmental impact assessment that was completed last year for Agrinature Investment and Trade, also reportedly a Namibian and Chinese joint venture, to establish a donkey slaughterhouse at Okahandja is still under review at the environment ministry, officials confirmed this week.
JANA-MARI SMITH
Fu-Hai Trading Enterprises, reportedly co-owned by Swakopmund estate agent Shane Quinton Hangula and a Chinese business partner identified only as 'Mr Chengdabiek', has pulled the plug on plans to operate a donkey abattoir at Outjo.
Fu Hai Trading instructed Quivertree Consulting, the company hired to conduct the mandatory environmental impact assessment last year, that they would no longer proceed with the abattoir plan following a review of the draft EIA, sources told Namibian Sun. Svenja Garrard of Quivertree briefly confirmed this development yesterday.
Garrard declined to comment further on the matter, saying that relevant information would be shared as soon as possible.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism's department of environmental affairs confirmed that Fu Hai Trading Enterprises had applied for an environmental clearance certificate last year.
But a departmental spokesperson said this week that the “Outjo proponent has expressed intent to withdraw their application, although they have not done so officially as yet.” Namibian Sun was informed off the record that 'Mr Chengdabiek' had given instructions for the company's abattoir equipment and deep freezers to be sold.
When Namibian Sun reached Shane Quinton Hangula on his cellphone yesterday, he claimed that the phone reception was bad and he could not hear the questions. Further attempts to contact him failed.
It remains unclear what the exact reasons for the scrapping of the planned abattoir were.
Initial indications are that findings contained in the draft EIA led to the abandonment of the project because it was not economically viable.
The assessment apparently found that Fu Hai Trading Enterprises' plan to slaughter 70 donkeys per day was likely unsustainable and that a census of the country's donkey population was first needed.
None of the senior officials at the Outjo municipality were available for comment yesterday. The municipality had fully supported the controversial donkey abattoir from the start. It argued that a donkey abattoir would bring investment and employment to the town.
Locally and internationally, many opposed the donkey abattoir, questioning its sustainability and the ripple effects it would have on Namibian society.
Another environmental impact assessment that was completed last year for Agrinature Investment and Trade, also reportedly a Namibian and Chinese joint venture, to establish a donkey slaughterhouse at Okahandja is still under review at the environment ministry, officials confirmed this week.
JANA-MARI SMITH
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