GREAT KEI
Tatler We know where you live.
GONUBIE
HOGSBACK
by Aly Verbaan
D
riving around the streets of Cwili in the early hours of Sunday morning with no headlight on,
A Cwili woman driving a blue double-cab bakkie, ran over a man lying in the road Police have indicated that the man, and possible the woman also, were drunk at the time of the accident — at around 02:00.
The woman did not stop to see what she had hit and was arrested later that morning, at approximately 09:00 by Kei Mouth SAPS.
The man, who had not yet been named as his family must first be notified, sustained fatal injuries to his head, and died in the ambulance en rout to hospital in East London.
The driver spent Sunday and Monday night behind bars, and appeared in the court on Tuesday on charges of culpable homicide. She has not yet been asked to plead.
The suspect was released on bail until her next court appearance.
Aside from this incident, no other occurrences out of the ordinary were reported by police this month.
Says Captain Riaan Mare of Kei Mouth SAPS, “There were some common assaults and a few incidents of housebreaking and petty theft of the type the area is usually subjected to. No other serious incidents were reported.
HAGA HAGA
MORGAN BAY
KEI MOUTH
KOMGA
HOTEL HATRICK!
VIP WISDOM
ENDANGERED
Wild Coast wins, wins, wins!
Prof Jonathan Jansen‘s advice to the youth
Kei Mouth cranes under threat
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Cwili man dies in hit-and-run
CINTSA
FREE
October 2017
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Kei dolerite mining outrage DEVELOPER HAS ‘BIG PLANS FOR KEI MOUTH’, BUT REFUSES TO DIVULGE ANY DETAILS
A
asked what any connections to the municipality had to do with the mine. “Everyone knows me in Kei Mouth, including Loyiso. Why is that a problem? It is not a municipal decision.”
by Aly Verbaan
proposed dolerite mine has raised the concern and ire of Kei Mouth and Morgan Bay residents, business people and holiday homeowners, who fear the 5ha excavation will irreparably damage the area’s mainstay of tourism and environmental interests. The land proposed for the mine belongs to the Great Kei Municipality and is currently listed as “commonage”. It incorporates farms 102 and 106. It is unclear why this particular piece of land, which is located in a Critical Biodiversity Area 1 (CBA1), has been selected. According to engineering geologist Matthew Jones of MSJ Geotechnical Consulting Services in East London, dolerite is to be found “pretty much all over that area. An alternative site could definitely be found”. Jones added: “There are also existing dolerite quarries nearby that could be mined, meaning that there is no need to damage the commonage as well.” The mine would operate for a period of up to five years, and involve drilling, blasting, excavation and crushing of rock and dolerite for up to eight months of the year. While the developer and municipality sees the operation as a possibility for job creation to the tune of some 60 positions, Andrew Peters, manager of Independent Crushers CC in East London, an expert in this field, predicts a maximum of 10 jobs, half of which would have to be outsourced as semi-skilled labour that is
GREAT DEBATE Some see the mine as an employment opportunity, while others fear for the environment. Photo: supplied not found in the local community. The loss of employment in the tourism, property and environmental sector is, however, expected to be substantial. Lolo and Lolo Development Services CC is applying as the developer and an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is to be conducted by Stellenryck Environmental Solutions, headed up by Johannes Van As of Port Elizabeth. At the time of closure for comments and objections from interested and affected parties (IAPs), some 339 people registered with Stellenryk. This list was made available last week. Lolo and Lolo’s sole member, Foster Sikolobo of Kei Mouth, was apparently
unaware of these objections, and asked the Great Kei Tatler (GKT) “what the big hullaballoo is about”. He added that he had “several big projects” he intended to develop in Kei Mouth, but refused to specify any details, other than tarring a road that leads to his parents’ house. Sikolobo confirmed that the dolerite would be used for these various projects, and said that it was not financially viable to mine elsewhere. Asked to confirm or deny his friendship with Great Kei Municipality Mayor Loyiso Tshetsha, Sikolobo became defensive, even though the mayor himself has publicly confirmed this relationship between them. Sikolobo
Fill up with Confidence at Express Meises Halt; Express Crossways; Chintsa and Kei Mouth
It is in fact a provincial matter and the decision rests with the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR). Van As said the application had been lodged and the scoping report finalised. The EIA had actually also been done several years ago for Sikolobo, but he had not gone ahead with the mine at that time due to financial reasons. Amendments are to be made, according to Van As, taking into account the 339 IAPs who registered this time. “The IAPs are not a problem — it just means it will take longer to process,” he added.
The IAPs are for the most part homeowners, business-owners and ratepayers, and governmental departments. Very few members of the Cwili and Igxhara townships registered, and some say this was due to intimidation tactics. The GKT spoke to a number of such people, all of whom said they knew about the application but were not prepared to talk about it.
A Kei Mouth home- and businessowner, whose name is being withheld by the GKT, had attempted to put up posters in the townships that read: Stop the Dolerite Mine, but said she was stopped by a clerk from the Kei Mouth SAPS and told it “would not be safe” for her to do so. She told the GKT that she “very definitely” took this to be a threat. But Sikolobo was outraged when questioned about any reluctance in the townships to be involved. “Why do people not phone me directly, instead of talking to you or Mr Van As? You phoned me, they can phone me too. I won’t hold a grudge against anyone who doesn’t support the mine.”
The area’s prolific birdlife will suffer irremediable damage, according to environmental scientist CV Vermeulen, director of the consultancy company Environmental Management Group. Concerns range from noise, dust, damaging the protected environment, disturbing wildlife, particularly the endangered breeding pair of grey crowned cranes, water sources, and, should the mine go ahead, proper rehabilitation of the site afterwards.