Z
outpansberger
LEON
17 September 2021
News with an independent soul
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Council ready to auction off 849 new stands - page 2
Jaargang 37 Vol.37
Levubu-boere en munisipaliteit haaks oor krag - bladys 3
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‘Revised plan’ for SEZ By Andries van Zyl Interested and affected parties (IAP) have been granted an additional round of public-participation meetings to voice their objection or support for the government’s highly contentious Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) just north of the Soutpansberg. EnviroXcellence Services, the newly appointed environmental assessment practitioner (EAP), invited IAPs this week to attend a number of public-participation meetings to discuss the final environmental impact assessment (EIA). They are seeking to get authorisation for the clearing of limited vegetation for the construction and installation of bulk services infrastructure and fencing for the MMSEZ south site. (The MMSEZ will include two components and sites situated in close proximity but at two different locations. The north site is to be located between Musina and Beitbridge, while the south site will be located approximately 50km to the south of Musina in the Mopane area. This site will focus on the metallurgical and energy cluster of heavy industrial activities for the proposed MMSEZ). EnviroXcellence took over as EAP from Delta BEC, who was originally appointed to conduct the EIA. Delta BEC concluded the EIA process up to submission of the final EIA to the Limpopo Department of Economic Development and Tourism (LEDET), after which they withdrew from the process. EnviroXcellence has since concluded the final EIA after LEDET identified some information gaps in the initial report and requested additional studies, more public participation and a revised EIA. Among the specialists reports included in the new, revised EIA are an updated biodiversity-offset report and a climate-change report. In addition, LEDET also requested that clarity be provided on, amongst others, water security and energy supply for the proposed MMSEZ, with the focus on the long-term life of the develop-
ment.
New plan, half the footprint Due to the dramatic impact the proposed MMSEZ will have on the region’s biodiversity, LEDET requested that the biodiversity offset specialist report be updated. The new EIA now proposes halving the initial overall footprint of the clearing area from 8013,91ha to only 3862ha, committing more than 51% of the original site for conservation and ecological
linkages. This, the revised report states, will ensure that critical habitats within the MMSEZ South site, as pointed out by the fauna & flora-, wetland- and avifauna specialists, are conserved.
It is going to get hot! From the onset, the proposed MMSEZ has been severely criticised for relying on a coal-fired power station to supply in its electricity needs. (Contd on P2)
Tannie Dora vier 100 jaar! Tannie Dora Cronjé het Woensdag, 15 September, die unieke mylpaal bereik om haar 100ste verjaarsdag te vier. Dit maak van haar ook die oudste inwoner van Ons Tuiste Ouetehuis op Louis Trichardt. Afgeneem is tannie Dora saam met haar susterskinders. Van links na regs is Karin Fick, tannie Dora, Dora Fick en agter is Nadia Prinsloo. (Sien berig op p. 4)
SINCE 1959