PRISCA MANYIWA-MASUKU
MIRROR REPORTER

REDCLIFF – Livetouch Investments, a company that is into cement manufacturing met with stakeholders on Wednesday and mapped out further actions that the former must carry out in order to stop dust pollution into Stoneclair Suburb in Redcliff and the surrounding environment suburbs.
There have been complaints by residents against the company for emitting unacceptable levels of dust into homesteads and the environment.
The meeting of stakeholders gave conditions including that Livetouch pave roads inside and around its premises with concrete to prevent dust spewing up into the air, keep their environment wet to prevent dust emissions and tar roads that stretch from the company into Redcliff suburbs.
There was also a condition that no residential stands should be issued too close to the plant because of the danger of the dust although generally the stakeholders agreed that the pollution situation had improved.
The stakeholders who attended the meeting were EMA, Redcliff Municipality, Combined Redcliff Residents Association, business community and others.
EMA told the meeting that Lovetouch is yet to reach 100 percent compliance with the environmental regulations standards and that it will continue to monitor the company until all the issues is resolved.
Livetouch Safety Health and Environmental Officer, Etwin Tembo said the company will do another survey on the current dust emission situation.
“In terms of the World Health Organization (WHO) standards, the company is not in compliant and in terms of our Act we cannot say it’s compliant that is why we are still pursuing them to comply.
“They have partly addressed some of the areas that we have ordered to work on but its not to our satisfaction,” said Kwekwe District EMA representative Daniel Magombedze.
Redcliff Mayor, Vincent Shangwa Masiiwa told the company to tar the road which leads to their company to combat dust emissions emanating from the road they use.
Combined Redcliff Residents Association treasurer Mahlupi Sithole said the pollution situation had improved.
“The situation has changed for the better but there is need to address the roads that is where dust is coming from. In terms of compliance, in the company premises there is now compliance,” said Sithole.