El Salvador: Holcim El Salvador has received a ‘Special Mention’ from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources as part of the 2018 National Environment Awards, according to the El Mundo newspaper. It won the recognition for its environmental strategy, including efforts to recover and manage eco-systems around its quarries in Metapan.

Nigeria: The Federal Government says it is investigating complaints from residents at Akinbo village near to the quarry of Lafarge Africa’s Ewekoro cement plant in Ogun State. Local residents have complained about breeches of local environmental legislation at the site, according to the Vanguard newspaper. Adegboyega Salam, the Director of Mines Environmental Compliance Department from the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, said that the issue was related to relocation of the community. He added that he had asked Lafarge Africa for comment. The dispute relates to an agreement between the cement producer and the local community in 2012.

Kenya: Edward Ouko, the Auditor-General, has described the East Africa Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) as insolvent because it cannot pay its debts. The cement producer made an operating loss of US$34m in its financial year that ended on 30 June 2018, according to the Standard newspaper. Its revenue fell by 25% year-on-year to US$50m. The company said it devised a new strategy to focus distribution on it own depots and to compete on pricing to counteract a lack of distribution of its products in common retail stores.

Nepal: Ghorahi Cement has been praised by the Inland Revenue Department for paying one of the highest amount of value added tax (VAT) in the country in the 2017 – 2018 financial year, according to the Himalayan Times. The cement producer was awarded the accolade as part of the seventh National Tax Day.