Mozambique will receive approximately $4.8 million (320 million meticais) from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to support initiatives related to e-waste management.
The announcement was made during a meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa, where representatives from various SADC countries discussed solutions for the growing problem of electronic waste. The information was shared by Russell Cobbal, chemical waste manager at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
This amount is part of a $10 million package (660 million meticais) allocated to the first eligible countries in the region: Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini. The expectation is that funds will begin to be released in the second half of this year. According to Emília Polana, the technician responsible for the Stockholm Convention in Mozambique, the country has already completed most of the necessary paperwork.
“Only a few final documents are missing, such as letters of support from civil society and the CTA, to complete the process,” she explained.
With this funding, the plan includes creating recycling centers, collecting used equipment, training technicians, and launching campaigns to promote safer ways to dispose of this type of waste. The goal is to prevent toxic substances, such as heavy metals and hazardous plastics, from contaminating soil, rivers, and air.
Bianca Dlamini, Director of the Africa Institute, warned that e-waste ending up in regular landfills poses a serious threat.
“It’s a danger to people’s health and harms the environment,” she said, noting that many countries already face major problems due to a lack of dedicated collection and recycling systems.
She also stressed that recycling helps combat global warming, as it avoids the production of new devices — a process that consumes a lot of energy and emits large amounts of pollutants.
Source: Agência de Informação de Moçambique
