MAPUTO– The Mozambican Minister of Land, Environment and Rural Development, Celso Correia, says the government will announce the closure of the Hulene rubbish dump in the capital, Maputo, within the next 60 days.
His announcement at a media conference here Monday, alongside the Portuguese Environment Minister, Pedro Matos Fernandes, who is on an official visit to Mozambique, came a week after the collapse of part of the Hulene garbage dump overwhelmed seven houses and killed 18 people.
Correia stressed that the government intended to guarantee security at Hulene, even after the dump has been closed. A fence will be built around the dump that will prevent people from entering that place.”
For years, the municipal authorities in Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola have promised to build a new, modern landfill in the Matola neighbourhood of Matlemele to accommodate the solid waste from both cities.
Correia admitted that the Matlemele landfill will not be ready for another year. In the meantime, another landfill will be used, but the Minister did not say where. He expected this temporary solution to operate for about eight months until the Matlemele landfill is ready.
More than 120 families who had lived in the immediate vicinity of the Hulene dump are currently receiving assistance at an accommodation centre set up by Maputo Municipal Council.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK