As an economist and political progressive I believe it is important to seriously consider the claims made by Mineral Commodities that the Xolobeni project “will bring employment, water, power, improved roads, health care and education, while restoring a vast area of land left devastated by agriculture.”

My locality (near Sydney Australia) was sand mined in the 1970s, in the days when an EIS barely existed. We objected to it, and have always been unhappy (here’s a little irony) becaause the first replantings (sand dune revegetation) used non-native South African plants.

However, that aside, the area has been well vegetated for decades. It ,and the surrounding area, has been declared a National Park. There is a growing local population with abundant tourism. We also gained a substantial road that had previously barely existed.

So you can see that these projects can bring great benefits. And in an impoverished community, one of the greatest will be electricity. I don’t know the Eastern Cape I hasten to add, but I do know that so much more is possible when a community has a good power supply, and the scale of demand that justifies creating power generation.

I am a great believer in Education, and its power to uplift whole communities. In Australia Aboriginal ownership rights over land has given it a new bargaining power that has seen scholarships created for tertiary training, and the qualifications and income that come with it. Local aborigines have been guaranteed a percentage of all jobs on site, and training to increase their skills level. Local schooling has improved, so It has certainly been a win-win situation here.

Water, roads, health care: these are fantastic benefits for local communities. They should not be sacrificed because of the mere suspicion that they will not occur. You have I hope a robust administration, and EIS and local ownership. These are great insurances. These are great means of protecting and ensuring that the benefit do accrue to the community. Moreover Australian companies have an enviable record (but not spotless) for enduring high standards in their productive and development work. Keep an eye on all mining companies, but do not indulge in black and white, us-and-them attitudes. Some of those companies have practices that are admirable. The great majority are very keen to remain entirely within the law and despise the corruption found in many foreign countries. In other words, do not let fear and prejudice blind you, foreign capital (well directed and regulated) can bring great benefits, and doesn’t this community deserve a chance to gain those benefits?