E Guinea scavengers to be fined

2008-08-18 21:31

Malabo - Residents in a poverty-stricken district of Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, face crippling fines if they keep scavenging in local rubbish dumps, the city authorities warned on Monday.

"From now on, anyone caught recovering food waste from dumps will be hit with fines going from 25 000 to 50 000 CFA francs (about R400 ? R860)," according to Malabo's mayor, Maria Coloma Edjang Mbengono.

Mbengono justified the measure on public health grounds.

The discovery of oil and gas in the early 1990s has created a booming economy in Equatorial Guinea, once one of the world's poorest countries.

But the minimum monthly salary in the country is still only 80 000 CFA francs (about R1 400).

- SAPA