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The area near the Khan mountains in the Namib Desert is getting destroyed by a company - apparently with only an exploration licence - carving huge blocks of rock from mountains and selling it as dimension stone to overseas markets. Angry environmentalists and nature lovers contacted PLUS to voice their anger about what they call destruction of nature and the age-old desert.

The company name is allegedly Stone Africa and belongs to a certain Hannes W. Research at the registrar of deeds in Windhoek revealed that the company name was not on the list of registered companies, PLUS found out this week.

"There are eight different sites where the company is literally sawing parts of mountains away in the Namib Desert, although it has no mining licence. We informed the ministry of mines and energy, but they said there was nothing wrong with that" a coastal resident told PLUS. Other people discovered that the company had built roads all over and left rocks sand rubble from the destroyed mountains lying around in the areas.

An enquiry at the ministry of mines and energy brought no results, the person dealing with mining companies was "out of town," an official in that ministry said.

The matter was discussed at meetings of tourism companies, but so far brought no action to stop the destruction. Similarly, high-ranking officials at the ministry of environment and tourism in Windhoek are said to have shown no interest in the matter.