Sunseed Oil must pay for polluting Malawi environment, MP Suleman
Barely days after a heated private members motion was moved in parliament which tackled preferential political treatment to Malawians of Asian origin doing business in the country, a legislator wants to push Sunseed Oil Company Limited in Lilongwe to pay for endangering communities around it through careless disposal of factory waste.
The Environmental Affairs Department closed Sunseed Oil Company for failing to comply with environmental standards on disposal of effluent.
Sunseed Oil has always been a culprit in this game of illegal dumping of wastes that pollutes communities.
Blantyre City South legislator Sameer Suleman who has been vocal against Asian Business Community wants to push to ensure compensation for the people of Chitukula area who have lost crops and livestock due to the oil spillage which has now reached very unbearable proportion.
Suleman feels that Sunseed Oil is being shielded by the Department of Environment Affairs after the managing director of Globe Group of Companies, Waheed Kassam, had an audience with the President Lazarus Chakwera to help his company, run by his son, hence being treated with kid gloves.
Sunseed official Irshaad Mahomed has also been boasting of being too close to Chakwera, hence being untouchable.
According to Suleman, in keeping with the spirit of clearing the old and new rubble, the legislators cannot go on watching the future of the country being destroyed by rogue companies that stagger around with false sense of invincibility.
“Sunseed must compensate the communities,” he said.
Sunseed Oil Company has been time and again advised to bring robust containment gulleys and dams within their factory, to fully control the waste.
Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) executive secretary David Nungu confirmed that the matter has been investigated and that the rights of the villagers to a clean environment, safe and clean drinking water and economic activity are being violated by the company discharging the waste on them.
Commentators commended Environmental Affairs Department for their action on Sunseed Oil Company, saying profit seekers have gotten away with environmental atrocities the laws abhor.
More than 150 villagers in the area are in grave danger of suffering—and even dying—from various diseases, as they are forced to drink what an environmental expert says is heavily-contaminated water.
Section 60 of the Environmental Management Act of 2017 empowers Environmental Affairs Department to close companies that pollute.
Sunseed Oils is a company that manufactures cooking oil such as Mulawe and Sungold. It also manufactures Sunsoap and Mulawe salt.
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Jussab,this is for your ears only,I did not blame Aslam,I feel sorry for him,the stench around his home originates from the industrial area whose waste matter drains into the stream which passes by his house,am sorry Aslam if his reply which is as a result of misunderstanding offended you. I did not mean to.
This sameer seems to be a mere failure in life. He seems to have great hatered for his fellow mwenyes. Maybe analepra ndi anzawo apulumuka.
Chaka cha atha umapanga chiyani?
Suna one zimenezo.
Ukungofuna ku yambana za racist, basi.
Munthu opusa.
Ngati amwenya awa were to go back home or stop their factories and businesses you wont be able to find a coffin for yourself to be burried in as the material to make the coffin is also from the mwenye shops
Mp the waste near aslam zagaf is from our blantyre city and this has been going on for years…it would had been better for you be to an activist instead of an MP.
Good morning.it seems this MP needs simeone to palm his hands.. he was government for one year,was he sleeping?now he suddenly wakes up from his deep sleep and starts talking rubbish,or maybe you want favours from mcp to consider you with some business..if you so concerned about our environment,go check in your constituency what is happening to the sewage water that drains out from the many houses in your constituency..you should also know that there are departments that handle such issues,sunseed was closed for a number of days and they know exactly how to dump waste..another point you have to… Read more »
Speeds farm on chiradzulu should be next
Even other Cooking Oil Manufacturers should be investigated on the same issues as Most of the Cooking Oil Companies are Owned by Asian Business People who are doing wrong things in our Country in terms of Taxes Evasions and Enviroment polluting and Low wages paid to Malawians
Why Enivormental Affairs Dept and MHRC and other Govt Agencies and Villagers Not fileing any Legal Case against the Sunseed Oil Co Ltd for Violating the Laws of Malawi
It is this kind of unsubstantiated speculation, and baseless gossip that has contributed to the poor development of our country, ……
We are now living in different era, president Chakwera has said openly on many occasions, that he does not control the law enforcement agencies and that he will never shield anyone from facing the long arm of the law if they have committed a crime, so what evidence does the writer of this article have to substantiate his or her claims?
did you not see a whole article in the papers including pictures of the pollution
If the Blantyre MP is really serious, why not assist the villagers in Lilongwe start legal proceedings.
Is no piped water in that area with such large scale manufacturing?
koma aMVULA MWATHADI ETI MPAKA GEORGE THE STOGGE KASAKULA KUKUPANANI CHONCHIJA KOMAAAAAAAA IT WAS CLEAR THAT MR MVULA SANLI OMASUKA, HE KNOWS THE TRUTH KOMA KUKANIKA KULANKHULA KOMA THIS MAN WHO DESTROYED SHIRE BUS LINESSSSSSSSSSSS