Reject uranium report says former minister

A former cabinet minister on his social media page has called on Parliament to reject a Standing Committee report recommending that Russian-owned company Headspring Investments be permitted to drill and conduct in situ uranium leach mining in the Stampriet Artesian Basin - one of Namibia's most vital shared groundwater resources.



Calle Schlettwein, former Minister of Agriculture, did not mince words. "No development, no food production, no livestock farming, no villages and towns - in fact no life can exist without water," he said. "Water is our most valuable resource. Protect it instead of destroying it."

Schlettwein pointed directly to the legal framework he believes the Committee has overlooked. The Water Resources Management Act, Act No. 11 of 2013, he noted, explicitly prohibits the pollution of water sources in proclaimed water reserves - and the Stampriet Aquifer holds that proclaimed status. "Parliamentary Standing Committees should acquaint themselves with existing legislation before they make recommendations which include supporting contraventions of an Act of Parliament," he said, adding that the report and its recommendations should therefore be rejected.

SAUMA responds

The Stampriet Aquifer Uranium Mining Association (SAUMA), which represents interests along the basin, has expressed equally serious concerns - and says it was given no opportunity to raise them. Despite repeated efforts to engage the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, SAUMA says it was not consulted at any stage of the process. Instead, it alleges, exclusive engagement was afforded to Headspring Investments alone.

"This raises fundamental questions about the transparency, balance, and credibility of the Standing Committee," SAUMA said in a media statement. "The stance taken by the committee in presenting only one side of the issue is highly irresponsible."

Supporting this stance is a member from the community, Deensia Swartbooi, who said on social media: “Just imagine, not even proper consultations were done with the communities of Koës, Gochas, Araob, Hoachanas, Aranos or Stampriet with regards to the proposed mining on our Acquifer.”

Central to SAUMA's objections is the continued absence of a comprehensive, independent hydrogeological flow study - one that a previous Standing Committee had itself recommended, and which SAUMA argues is a prerequisite for any responsible decision-making. The basin is home to farms that have operated for decades, and extensive published research on the geology and hydrology of the area, SAUMA says, has been ignored.

Stakes are high

The stakes are considerable. For the purpose of irrigation water in excess of 700 cubic metres is currently pumped every hour, around the clock, every day of the year. SAUMA warns this creates powerful underground flow drawing water from tens of kilometres away - and that this same flow could pull toxic mining solution out of any in-situ leach operation, spreading contamination widely through the aquifer.

For the farming communities of the basin, underground water is their only source.

SAUMA has also flagged potential transboundary consequences. The Stampriet Artesian Basin crosses international borders, and should neighbouring countries experience contamination of their drinking water, the question of who bears legal and financial responsibility remains entirely unanswered.

The association says it is currently considering all available options in response to the committee's report, and remains committed to ensuring that mining decisions are made on the basis of sound science, inclusive consultation, and the precautionary principle.