Thanks for sending through a comment on our website. I would challenge you to give a much broader view point. I would be happy as well to support mining as a development, if that is what people of Xolobeni want. Here we are faced with the situation where the people of Xolobeni do not see mining as a solution to their development needs. Let us now analyze this mining and see if it will really bring the development you are talking about.
How many jobs are talking about here? The problem is that they are talking of 300 jobs of which only about 100 will be suitable for illiterate people of our village. The problem is that sand mining is highly mechanized (uses machines). We know the levels of literacy in our community. The mining operation is to be owned by an Australian company which has paid only a R1000 to obtain a mining license. The BEE company, XOLCO is expected to pay about R118 million to pay for its own shares. They do not have this money, but will be loaned by the Australian company (MRC/TEM). The mining lifespan is 22 years. XOLCO is therefore expected to pay back the loan during the first 10 years. They will only see benefits from their shareholding on the 11th year. This means XOLCO will owe the Australians for that period. Imagine if something goes wrong in this 10 years and business closes down. Now tell me is this development in your term??

XOLCO is said to represent the people of XOLOBENI, why then do they have to buy or pay for the shares in a business which is going to take land from them? Are they paying Australians to make money off their own land??? How would you feel if somebody wants to use your house to run business with you as a partner but ask you to pay rent for the use of your own house?

Despite all this, people of XOLOBENI will bear all the costs of mining. This will be dry sand mining; therefore dust will be flying around affecting them, their grazing land. Their underground water will be sucked up and used in the process. They will lose some of their grazing land and crop land. Estuaries will also suffer the consequences. If you want to understand more of the consequences you do not have to go too far, but to Richards Bay in KZN.

It is good for the so called ‘educated’ (me and you) to support development but of most important is to make sure that the people who live on the land are given fair hearing as they will end up bearing all the costs of those development projects. The people who are pushing for mining at XOLOBENI have chosen to ignore the people who leave on the land; this is not only unfair but illegal. Can you imagine if that was being done to you parents? How would you feel? “The land belongs to all who live in it!!!”

Regards

Sinegugu