The Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs received a briefing from the Department of Environmental Affairs on initiatives to regulate mining in environmentally sensitive areas. At the centre of its presentation was the Ministry’s decision to authorise coal mining in the Mabola Protected Environment in Mpumalanga.
In its opening address, the Deputy Director of Biodiversity and Conservation in the Department of Environmental Affairs, Mr Shoni Munzhedzi, illustrated how the department deals with mining-related issues in sensitive environmental areas and how it is regulated through legislation.
“We have noted that most of the areas earmarked for prospective mining applications have other land uses that are competing. In Mpumalanga, areas have cultural value, but also have high coals reserves, high biodiversity or high water yield in that very area.”
Furthermore, there are escalating demands for minerals. “Mining is being increasingly undertaken in remote and biodiversity-rich areas that were not previously explored,” he said.
The department presented a case study of Mabola protected environment, a mixed land-use area, with high water yields, a high cultural value and also has a mining activity as a new feature.
To mitigate this, said Mr Munzhedzi, the department uses legislative tools and frameworks from the United Nation 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and from South Africa’s Constitution, which gives citizens a right to an environment that is not harmful to health or well-being. The National Environment Management Act and related Mining Act and biodiversity guideline also stipulate what can be done before a mining application is granted and how to offset potential environmental damage thereafter.
However, the department is faced with the challenge of ensuring that the legislation on protected areas operates within a sustainable development framework that takes into consideration socioeconomic and ecological considerations. This challenge is heightened by the department’s approval of mining in Mabola, a restricted environmental area in Pixley ka Seme Local Municiplaity, which is a mixed biodiversity area, and as such a protected environment.
A member of the Committee, Mr Zondi Makhubele, asked why the department had granted a licence to a mining activity in the protected area of Mabola.
Mr Munzhedzi answered that Mabola required specific intervention because there are a number of farms and water catchment areas in the region. He said the environmental authorisation of mining activities took that into consideration. Furthermore, a number of specialist studies, including a socio-economic impact study, were undertaken before the mining licence was granted.
When the officials of the department appeared to be reluctant to mention which mining company had been granted the mining licence at Mabola, this led to some debate in the Committee meeting on the issue. The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs, Mr P Mapulane, insisted on the name. He went on to add that the matter surrounding the awarding of this mining licence is now of public interest and there is a litigation pending regarding it.
The Deputy Director of Legal, Authorisation, Compliance and Enforcement in the department, Mr Ishaam Abader, proclaimed that the company is Arthur Africa.
The Committee Chairperson said: “We ask these questions on the basis that this matter is now of national interest. This is in the public domain. I have picked up that the company that was granted this licence is an Indian company. We take it in good faith that you don’t know which company was granted the licence. It is our work to ask these questions, as part of executing our legislative responsibilities.”
How do you allow mining in protected areas, asked another member of the Committee, Mr Thomas Hadebe? “How will this affect our Paris climate change agreement when coal mining is continued? Will this increase our use of fossil fuels?”
Mr Abader replied: “The move is toward renewable energy, but we still need fossil fuels. And that is the reality our country is still faced with.”
The Deputy Minister, Mr Munzhedzi, stated that the granting of mining licence is not the sole business of the Department of Environmental Affairs. One should also solicit the views of other departments, such the departments of Water and Energy, which were also involved in the granting of this licence, he said.
The Chairperson maintained: “But if you allowed mining in Mabola, it means it can be allowed elsewhere. Mining companies always look for mining deposits. A company may find deposits at Kruger. What we will do? We are setting a dangerous precedent. We may find that we have shot ourselves in the foot on this matter. It may not be Kruger. There could be other protected environments where there could be application for mining. How will the department deal with that when it has already set a precedent?”
Abel Mputing
9 May 2017
Arrange a tour