By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Demonstrators on Saturday invaded state-run Tunisian Chemical Group’s (CGT) phosphate complex in the southern city of Gabes in Tunisia, calling for its immediate closure to prevent health possible health hazards.
They said the complex, crucial for the production of phosphate, Tunisia’s most valuable natural resource poses threats of environmental pollution and respiratory illnesses, witnesses said.
The protest puts more pressure on President Kais Saied’s administration, already struggling with economic and financial crisis, to balance public health demands with phosphate production.
Demonstrators were walking inside the facility and chanting slogans calling for its closure and dismantling, witnesses said as videos on social media also indicated.
Security forces and their vehicles were seen stationed inside the complex, but no clashes were reported.
“Gabes has turned into a city of death, people are struggling to breathe, many residents suffer from cancer or bone fragility due to the severe pollution,” Reuters quoted Khaireddine Dbaya, one of the protesters as saying.
President Saied had last week said Gabes was suffering an “environmental assassination” due to what he called criminal old policy choices, blaming them for widespread illness and the destruction of local ecosystems.
He urged swift action and the adoption of youth-proposed solutions to address an ongoing environmental crisis.
In 2017, authorities pledged to dismantle the Gabes complex and replace it with a facility that meets international standards, acknowledging that its emissions posed a danger to local residents. However, the plan has not been implemented.
Tons of industrial waste are discharged into Gabes’s Chatt Essalam sea daily. Environmental groups warn that marine life has been severely affected with local fishermen reporting a dramatic decline in fish stocks over the past decade, hitting a vital source of income for many in the region.
The latest wave of protests was triggered this week after dozens of schoolchildren suffered breathing difficulties believed to have been caused by toxic fumes from the nearby plant.
