September 07, 2008 Edition 1

Alyn Adams

Dear Minister Sonjica,

Just a note of support from a poorish white person, to remind you to keep your chins up in this time of tribulation. I say “poorish” because I know that, democratically speaking, I qualify as a prima facie elitest. [Read more...]

Posted on September 11th, 2008 by Louis
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Rt. Hon. Madame Buyelwa Sonjica
Minister of Minerals & Energy
Private Bag X59
Pretoria 0001

Dear Minister,

Congratulations on your decision to allow the Australians to strip-mine the Wild Coast. As a child, my parents would force me to accompany them on camping trips to Mtentu estuary. I look back on those times with hatred in my heart. I always seemed to have sand up my nose and a bluebottle down my costume. The sun was too hot and the water was too cold. Once a crab almost took my foot off and I remember looking at the estuary and thinking, one day someone will come along and destroy you. And I will laugh. [Read more...]

Posted on September 8th, 2008 by Louis
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Letter to the Editor: Business Report

The Wild Coast is littered with the wrecks of grandiose development plans that have come to grief in one of the most inaccessible and beautiful parts of the country. [Read more...]

Posted on September 8th, 2008 by Louis
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21 August 2007

To whom it may concern

Objection to Amendment Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill ( section 4 of Act 28 of 2002)

Please note the extreme concern, and objection, with which Sustaining the Wild Coast (SWC) view the following amendment to section 4 of the Mineral Petroleum and Resources Development Amendment Bill (B10 -2007) namely;

“3) the provisions of the National Environment Act, 1998 (Act No 107 of 1998) relating to environmental authorizations and any other related matters, shall not apply to activities of holders regulated in terms of this act.”

SWC objection is based upon the following: [Read more...]

Posted on August 21st, 2007 by admin
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Dear Editor

Nomangesi Malunga, chairman of Xolco’s, concerns about people along the Wild Coast having a right to decent jobs and a basic standard of living are highly commendable. However, it would do well for Directors of Xolco to take a hard streetwise look at the supposed benefits Australian exploration mining company MRC will deliver to Wild Coast communities, least they end up manipulated into an exploitative deal that will not deliver on all it promises. For MRC publicity blurbs do not entirely line up with information on MRC’s Xolobeni website, nor with information revealed during close questioning in the public participation process. [Read more...]

Posted on June 28th, 2007 by admin
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A letter sent to various goverment departments expressing reservations about the objectivity of terminology used in public participation meetings re mining, that I attended. ( Val Payn)

[Read more...]

Posted on June 27th, 2007 by admin
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GCS/ Mazizi Msutu

ADDITIONAL CONCERNS RAISED RE DSR/ XOLOBENI MINING’

Dear Ayanda/ Trudy

Please could you table these additional concerns of Sustaining the Wild Coast for the DSR

In no particular order of importance.

That:-

• under the current ‘climate’ and circumstances of tension and mistrust along WC it is impossible for anyone to come to an informed and objective opinion of what is best for the region, let alone for affected communties to do so.

• there seems more than enough probability that a small group of people are manipulating events/ issues to make it appear that there is far more popular support for the mining than is actually the case. [Read more...]

Posted on June 25th, 2007 by admin
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