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

aware of the Namibian government´s position. 151
Scheme: A Rumor, Olympia Reisen
Date:
Type of Waste: Toxic waste
Source:
Exporter:
Pretext/Fate: Disposal in the Skeleton Coast
Status: Rumors
Some Namibian citizens, South African journalists and a Nature
Foundation alarmed Greenpeace in several letters and phone calls
about possible waste imports through the German travel agency
Olympia Reisen and the owner, Kurt Steinhausen. After research,
Greenpeace could not find any evidence of possible waste
imports through Olympia Reisen to Namibia. None of the
interviewed Namibians where able to give any hard facts about
the rumor. The suggested involvement of Mr. Steinhausen in
waste export schemes to Romania is definitely wrong.
Greenpeace believe that the rumor was created by employees of a
competitor of Steinhausen.
Scheme: No details, Picido
Date: 1994
Type of Waste:
Source:
Exporter:
Pretext/Fate:
Status: unknown
The South African registered company “Picido” and its owner,
Mohamed Hassan, were reportedly involved in waste trafficking.
Hassan, an Egyptian businessman, also operated in Namibia and,
according to The Namibian, therefore got into some trouble.
Hassan’s multi-million-dollar investment projects, the biggest
since independence, are looking shaky since Interpol are
searching for him. On 23 August, 1994, the Namibian police
confirmed that Interpol was asking for details of Hassan´s
whereabouts. Earlier, the Namibian Ministry of Finance was
moving to confiscate Hassan´s Bulgarian tractors in return for
unpaid import duties. 152
Obsolete Pesticides: In Namibia there were altogether 245 tonnes of obsolete
pesticides stored in one location.
The Plant Protection Department of Namibia sent an official
request to GTZ, to evaluate the situation in a store of a
151
Environment Matters, June 1990;
Earthlife Namibia;
Copies of Boedeckers original proposal are available in Greenpeace Germany.
152
Earthlife Africa;
“Multi-million Picido investment projects totter”, Tom Minney, The Namibian, 24.8.1994
76