4 minute read
Troubled Waters
TROUBLED WATERS THE WEST COAST
THE OLIPHANTS RIVER ESTUARY AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WEST COAST OF SOUTH AFRICA ARE UNDER THREAT, BOTH BY ILL THOUGHT-OUT MINING VENTURES AND GOVERNMENT COLLUSION AND COMPLICITY.
Photos. Bryan Little
THE WATERS
Most people are aware of what is going on along South Africa’s Wild Coast where seismic blasting conducted on behalf of Shell (who have an atrocious environmental and human rights record in Africa) is being backed by our deeply corrupt government. Shell Downstream South Africa (Pty) Ltd is 28% owned by Thebe Investments which is, in turn, heavily linked to the ruling ANC. Something that is not getting as much attention is the threat to our beautiful West Coast. Renowned for its stark beauty, incredible surfing and some great fishing for kob, geelbek, steenbras, elf and leervis, the West Coast is in serious trouble if rampant mining projects are allowed to proceed unchecked.
A new documentary Ours, Not Mine directed by Bryan Little and produced by Ana-Filipa Domingues both gives West Coast communities a voice and exposes how government and mining companies are working together to greenlight mining on the West Coast. This is despite serious concerns over the environmental impact such activities will have on local communities.
Little says, “The West Coast is a sanctuary for us, a place where we can wash the dirt of the world off. When we started seeing the threat that mining poses on this rare piece of wilderness, we knew we had to try and use our storytelling skills to help shine a light on the situation. Ours, not mine is essentially a film that gives local West Coast communities the platform to let the world know how they feel their land and waters must be treated. One woman at the public meeting declared, ‘No money will buy our ecosystem!’ It’s a powerful testimonial that has forever changed us as filmmakers and as people who love surfing and camping up ‘the Weskus’.”
THE WANKERS
There’s a lot going on behind the feeding frenzy of West Coast prospecting so it’s difficult to list all the wankers involved, but we have a few leading contenders. The Weskus invaders are looking for the usual buffet of shiny stuff and fossil fuels - diamonds, gold, heavy metals, gas and oil. Offshore gas and oil exploration is a major part of the government’s ‘Operation Phakisa’ which they say is aimed ‘at unlocking the potential of South Africa’s oceans’. While energy is a massive problem in South Africa, thanks to the wholesale rot at Eskom during the Zuma/Gupta years, there is a lot wrong about Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe’s consistent dismissal of renewables in favour of fossil fuels. This is at a time when the world HAS to move to greener energy sources to avoid the impending full-scale climate disaster brought about by global heating. Throw in the ANC’s incredible track record of institutional corruption, the stench of the proposed R228 billion, 20-year Turkish Karpowership deal (which West Coast gas and oil would link to) and Eskom/ South Africa’s shameful record as top global polluters, and the whole thing stinks worse than a bag of bokkoms left in a cadre’s BMW for a month.
Then there is the private side of the equation. There’s not enough space to list all the mining operations involved on the West Coast, but unsavoury firms like Australia’s Mineral Resources Commodities (MRC) who gained notoriety amid the blood shed over the Xolobeni mining project on the Wild Coast are involved both with their established Tormin operations near Lotzville and their new focus on the north side of the Olifants River mouth, one of South Africa’s most important estuaries. Despite 44 environmental appeals (dismissed by Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy who clearly gives zero fucks about the ‘Environment’ part of her portfolio), Mantashe’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has granted MRC the right to prospect for heavy minerals on the north bank.
THE WAY FORWARD
For starters you can watch Ours, Not Mine for free by visiting protectthewestcoast.org. Then, dive deeper into their site for further reading on mining threats and environmental appeals (make a point of reading Kevin Bloom’s Daily Maverick articles under the ‘news’ section). If you love the West Coast and you have the means, please donate to support the work Protect the West Coast does.
Little says, “Protect the West Coast is a newly formed but already super effective NGO seeking to raise awareness about this ‘out of sight - out of mind’ situation. Along with the Centre for Environmental Rights they are actively taking it to the courts and that’s where they need support, with funding for the legal battles. Protect the West Coast doesn’t believe that mining itself is inherently bad, it’s just the manner and scale with which it is being done that seems to have little regard for ecological or cultural impact. The rampant prospecting, with the aim of active mining all the way down to Elands Bay and into the Cederberg simply has to be stopped until a strategic environmental assessment has been done.”
