Tony Carnie

THE decision on whether to allow sand-dune mining near Xolobeni on the Wild Coast has been put on hold again.

The Minerals and Mining Board was due to hear evidence for and against the mining application in Durban yesterday, but the meeting was postponed to a date still to be finalised.

The Congress of Traditional Leaders of SA president and MP, Nkosi Phathekile Holomisa, who was to chair the hearing and hear legal argument, said committee members had not had sufficient opportunity to study the substantial volume of documentation on the matter and a decision was taken to reconvene at a later date.

Journalists were refused entry to the meeting room yesterday and told the hearing was an internal meeting.

They were later advised that the meeting had been postponed.

The application to mine in the environmentally sensitive Xolobeni area, south of the Wild Coast Casino, had been made by the Australian-based company Transworld Energy, a local subsidiary company Mineral Resources (SA) and the shareholder group Xolobeni Empowerment Company.

The application was approved by the Minerals Department in 2008 but was put on hold shortly afterwards following appeals by a number of groups, including the Amadiba Crisis Committee.

The committee has complained that residents of the area were not consulted properly.

A NEW round of hearings begins in Durban next week to debate controversial plans for dune mining at Xolobeni on the Wild Coast.

Part of the mining venture by an Australian company and local empowerment groups was approved in August 2008, but was put on hold after strong opposition from Xolobeni residents and traditional leaders, who said they had not been properly consulted.

The Legal Resources Centre, which is acting for members of the Amadiba crisis committee, also threatened to challenge the approval process in court.

Now legal advisers for the Mineral Resources Department have confirmed that supporters and opponents of the mining plan would be given the chance to air their views to a panel, which would make final representations to Minerals Minister Susan Shabangu.

The hearing would be held from February 8-10 at 333 Durban Bay House in Anton Lembede (Smith) Street.

It is understood that senior advocate Gilbert Marcus and Legal Resources Centre attorney Sarah Sephton would represent members of the Amadiba crisis committee.

The original mining proposal, by the Perth-based Transworld Energy group, involved removing heavy minerals from a 22km strip of coast immediately south of the Wild Coast Sun casino.

Although Xolobeni is in the Eastern Cape, members of the Amadiba crisis committee requested that hearings be held in Durban.

Cree Indian Prophecy.

PIETERMARTIZBURG MEETING.

The meeting held by SWC steering committee in Pietermaritzburg provided valuable
insights into the complexity of the task facing SWC, leading to the decision
that SWC can no longer afford to be a purely voluntary organization if all
SWC objectives are to be met. We were extremely pleased that Sinegugu Zukulu
was able to attend as he was invaluable in providing insights into local community
perspectives, which helped to guide SWC priorities and upcoming agenda’s.

Chief issues to emerge were that

- Wild Coast community support for proposed developments such as a toll rd
and mining seems to come primarily out of a lack of knowledge or choice of
other options. For instance, in the case of road infrastructure, support
for a toll rd comes from a perception that the choice communities face is
between a toll road, or no improvement to transport infrastructure at all.
There are clear indications that both mining and Toll rd proponents have
used these perceptions to push for community acceptance of what is offered
in terms of mining, toll rd developments.

- What also seems to be emerging is that when communities are given more choices
and information about ‘development’ options, for instance the upgrading
of local dirt roads over a toll rd, or eco- tourism over mining, they seem
more inclined to favour those choices that allow them the greatest leeway to
be in control of their own destinies and land, and that result in the least
disruption to their traditional way of life, their communities, and to the
environment. Namely, small scale community based eco- tourism and sustainable
agriculture, and the upgrading of existing local infrastructure. As Sinegugu
says ‘The problem with the current system is that government at all levels
does not come to the people and say ‘I have this much money/budget for
this ward/ community. What do you want?’ It comes with projects pre –approved
as if they were awards. This sometimes happens because somebody else came to
the government with the idea and money to negotiate e.g. a toll/ mining. People
as a result have come to understand that IT IS THE GOVERNMENT WAY OR NO WAY
AT ALL.’

- This has shaped SWC view that it is essential that communities be given better,
unbiased information about the choices facing them and about the pro’s
and cons of various types of development options, in order for them to make
informed decisions.

REFUSAL BY SANRAL TO GIVE PUBLIC ACCESS TO SCHEME DEVELOPER STATUS

- Despite requests, SANRAL has continued to deny SWC access to the Scheme Development
Agreement between SANRAL and the Wild Coast Consortium.(WCC). SWC made a
request to see the document under the Public Access to Information Act, but
SANRAL maintain their first obligation is to protect the scheme developer’s
commercial interests by not disclosing information that might be to the unfair
advantage of possible competitors. (If there are possible competitors who
might undercut WCC if the SDS is revealed, does this not in it self indicate
that the project might not be serving the best public interests and whole
scheme is party to monopolistic practices?)

- This would seem to indicate that SANRAL is in a state of conflicted accountability.
The Policy on Unsolicited Bids which it has to follow obliges it to ‘ensure
transparency, and offer the public protection from the possibility of monopolistic
practices and exploitation’ and further ‘be in the public interest,
avoid the creation of monopolistic practices, not seek to place onerous conditions
upon government, … and reflect environmental, social and economic sustainability’.

- In practice it would appear that SANRAL is more concerned about protecting
already powerful commercial interests from public scrutiny. Recall that WCC
is tainted by the scandal of Rufus Maruma ‘playing on two sides’,
thus contravening EIA regulations.

OTHER

- SWC Section 21 registration. All documents have been long completed and we
are awaiting processing procedures.

- New EIA Draft Scoping report –we have still not heard a word about
when this will be released.

COMMUNITY VISION

As far as we are able to ascertain without in depth work shopping, the vision
that communities seem to hold for themselves, as opposed to being dictated
to by outside forces, involve the development of activities and infrastructure
such as;-

- Improved Education – especially in regard to development options -
to raise awareness and empower local decision making.

- Improved access to electricity.

- Better local roads.

- Improved potable water supplies.

- Sustainable community based agriculture and eco –tourism.

- Assistance with the development of small scale, localized industries and
skills such as poultry, bee keeping, nurseries, bakeries, tourism, skills development,
history and cultural awareness and education programmers.

MINING DEVELOPMENTS

John Clarke, accompanied by human rights lawyer Richard Spoor and journalist
Stephan Hoffstater, recently visited communities in the Sigidi and Mtentu to
liaise and explain to them the implications of mining, and to inform them of
their legal rights with regard communal land, and of their individual and human
rights. They were heartened by the support the visit received, with over 75
community members turning up at Sigidi to hear what Richard had to say. Many
angry voices raised about ‘people who think they can take our land away
from us’, with allusions made to the Pondo uprising of 1960.

John, with the help of Bateleurs pilot and flying ace Barry de Groot, arranged
for some community leaders to gain a ‘bird’s eye view’ of
the areas earmarked for mining, and of the spectacular natural heritage of
which they were custodians.

The Pondo Park scenario continues to be complicated by mining related forces,
such as the community ‘empowerment’ group XOLCO which was set up
to engage mining interests, some of whose members actively sew suspicion about
the viability of eco –tourism amongst communities. The threat of future
mining operations in the area also puts a damper on any potential long term
eco –tourist investors and investments and has, in at least one known
instance, resulted in funding for a community tourist venture being withdrawn.

Continuing reports of applications of uncontrolled developments in the Wild
Coast region, such as a 100 bed hotel and golf course at Xhora Mouth, highlight
the urgency and dire need for the implementation of a spatial development framework,
both to protect vulnerable communities and the natural resources of the Wild
Coast region.

SWC WEBSITE

Thanks to Khululeka Retreat, SWC now have our own website up and running and
hope in the near future to be able to move web communications to a new level.

See www.swc.org.za

RECOMMENDED READING

Jarred Diamond. Collapse. How societies choose to succeed or fail.