Women at forefront of anti-nuclear fight honoured
TWO South African women at the forefront of the fight against nuclear energy have been awarded the world’s largest and most prestigious award for grass-roots environmental activists – the Goldman Environmental Prize.
Earthlife Africa-Johannesburg’s (ELA-JHB) Makoma Lekalakala and the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute’s (SAFCEI) Liz McDaid were honoured for waging a grass-roots campaign to expose the government’s nuclear deal, mobilising strong public opposition, and ultimately winning the court case to successfully prevent the production of toxic nuclear waste.
They are receiving their awards in San Francisco today.
McDaid grew up in Cape Town and is the Eco-Justice Lead for SAFCEI, an interfaith environmental organisation dedicated to confronting environmental injustice.
Lekalakala, was raised in Soweto and is the director for ELA-JHB, a largely volunteer-driven organisation that mobilises South Africans around environmental issues.
“The nuclear deal was, and potentially still is, a major threat to the livelihood of South African citizens and our quality of life,” Lekalakala said.
“There are other ways of generating energy, ways that are clean and affordable, and puts the power in the hands of the people.
“It is important, for our sustainability, that we start thinking differently about how we satisfy our energy needs. It is not sensible to think that what used to work in the past can still apply now, particularly since the evidence is overwhelming against nuclear technology and fossil fuels.”
McDaid said the risks with nuclear were just too high.
“I believe that if people have the facts, they will choose differently. This is what we are doing through our campaigning. For example, there is so much we don’t know about the future impacts of nuclear waste, which continues to grow every year,” she said.
Both women agreed that it was through the partnerships forged with other NGOs and civil society organisations – which resulted in mass grassroots mobilisation – that was pivotal to the court case win. The court case brought the nuclear deal out into the open.
For both Lekalakala and McDaid, the anti-nuclear campaign only forms part of their work.
Lekalakala also works on the Life After Coal campaign, which discourages the use of coal for energy generation, but rather advocates for the just transition to renewable energy systems for the people.
McDaid, on the other hand, also co-founded the Green Connection, an NGO working to empower people to participate in their environment to promote truly sustainable development.
Goldman Environmental Foundation president Susie Gelman said the two epitomise what the Goldman Environmental Foundation stands for – courage, compassion, vision, collaboration and hard work in the name of environmental justice.