Mombasa County Temporarily Closes Bamburi Cement
Mombasa County Temporarily Closes Bamburi Cement
Mombasa County Temporarily Closes Bamburi Cement
In response to a directive issued on Monday by the Mombasa County Government, Bamburi Cement has temporarily suspended operations.Due to allegations that the corporation had dumped coal dust on open fields, the Coastal County plant’s neighbors became enraged and the company’s operations were halted.
In an attempt to address the concerns voiced by the community, Mombasa County Deputy Governor Francis Thoya visited the factory’s grounds on Monday with representatives from the National Environment Management Authority of Kenya (NEMA).When the officials arrived, they found that coal dust was being dumped openly, contrary to earlier recommendations that it should be housed in silos. This left them with no choice but to order the factory to close immediately.
“I have ordered the operations of dumping the coal to be halted immediately and further ordered that their shipment at the port of Mombasa be withheld immediately,” said Thoya.The people who lived close to the factory had claimed that respiratory ailments were being brought on by the dust.
“The residents had complained to us demanding to know what action we were going to take,” Thoya noted.”We have done our investigations in partnership with the Public Health and we realized that for the last two months, Bamburi cement has been depositing the dust here.”
The County Government further ordered the factory to draft regulations on how they were going to deal with the menace before being allowed to continue operating.”They should come with draft regulations on how this coal dust can be eliminated or stored in silos, and this order begins immediately,” the deputy governor commented.
“They deposit their coal dust in their land though in the open, something which is abnormal.”In order to shield themselves from the black dust that they noticed had been severely affecting them for a while, residents had resorted to donning face masks and socks.
