POPs IN AFRICA HAZARDOUS WASTE TRADE 1980 - 2000 ... - Arte

ZIMBABWE
has been successfully removed and destroyed under a joint
collaborative and financial support from the Governments of the
Netherlands and Germany (BMZ/GTZ) and the FAO/TCP
towards the end of 1997.” 233
In connection with this disposal operation, 19 000 litre DNOC
from the IRLCO-CSA (see TANZANIA section of this report)
were shipped to the UK for incineration.
BASEL LOMÉ IV / COTONOU BAMAKO
Party Signatory
National Policy: The country of Zimbabwe, as a party to the Lomé Convention,
totally bans waste shipments to its territory. Zimbabwe has
ratified the Bamako Convention which bans the import of
hazardous waste.
Zimbabwe’s President, Robert Mugabe, spoke out against waste
dumping in Africa before the UN disarmament session in May
1988. On June 20, 1988, Zimbabwe’s semi-official newspaper,
Herald, called dumping of foreign wastes in Africa, “an inhuman
venture which must be stopped. African countries must unite and
fight this menace through the United Nations Environment
Programme.”
On July 22, 1988, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Nathan Shamuyarira, warned that his country would take stern
measures against any foreign nationals or companies attempting
to dump toxic wastes in Zimbabwe. Shamuyarira said that “very
discreet inquiries” had been made by representatives of an Italian
company about the dumping of wastes in an abandoned mine,
and that his government took “appropriate pre-emptive action.”
234
In 1989, Zimbabwe’s Health Minister, Felix Muchemwa, called
for legislation to protect African countries from being dumped on
by heavily industrialized countries. Said Muchemwa: “Each of
us has the responsibility of safeguarding our environment and so
apart from ensuring the safe management of our own hazardous
wastes, we need to take a resolute stand against transboundary
movement of hazardous wastes.” 235
Zimbabwe’s Labor Minister, John Nkomo, who is also president
of the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) three-week
annual assembly, spoke against waste trade and encouraged labor
233 GTZ-Brochure 2000, FAO 1999
234Barbara Day, “Third World Communities Serve as Toxic Dumps,” Guardian (U.S.), June 22, 1988; Reuters News Reports, June 20, 1988; Zimbabwean News Agency via BBC
Monitoring Service, July 25, 1988.
235Xinhua English Language News Service, February 1, 1989.
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