Correspondent

THE Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has suspended the operations of Norton-based tile manufacturer, Sunny Yi Feng Tiles (Zimbabwe), after it defied an order to establish emission sampling points.

This comes after EMA noted general complacency by firms in complying with environmental regulations because of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

EMA spokesperson Ms Amkela Sidanke said they ordered Sunny Yi Feng to cease all technical manufacturing operations on or before August 16, 2020.

She said this followed the company’s failure to comply with an order issued on August 5, directing it to establish emission sampling points in preparation for a sampling exercise facilitated by the agency that was scheduled for August 12.

“However, on the date earmarked for the sampling exercise, the company failed to establish sampling points as had been requested by the agency and further to that, the boiler and furnace were switched off, making it technically impossible to do sampling, thus deliberately obstructing the course of justice,” Ms Sidanke said.

Outspoken Norton legislator Temba Mliswa recently lamented on the deplorable state of the US$30 million factory.

Mliswa took to Twitter showing unsavory pictures of the sanitary conditions of the factory and wrote:

“Sights from the US$30 million tile factory. When we say there is need to upgrade standards, facilities and provide a conducive working environment for the workers the blind minded, full of politics every time, say we are harassing investors. Isn’t this harassment also?”

‌Sunny Yi Feng recently got bad press after one of their employees bashed Chief Chivero, a move which saw him being deported from Zimbabwe.