Land rights vs mining rights
Peppa, George, Mummy and Daddy Pig came to South Africa for the first time this weekend, and met little fans Saurav Sukhlal, Melokuhle Mazibuko, and Armaan Sukhlal, with tour guide Anna Ashleigh Butcher.the final Peppa Pig Live in SA show is on at the Playhouse Theatre at 3.30pm today, following sold-out shows since Friday. THE “Right2sayno” court case that challenges the processes used by the Department of Mineral Resources to issue mining rights will start hearing evidence tomorrow in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
Lawyers for Amadiba Crisis Committee will argue that the community must give their consent before the department can consider granting a mining licence to Australian firm Mineral Commodities Ltd to proceed with heavy minerals mining in the Xolobeni area on the Wild Coast
“The Xolobeni community is fighting against the loss of its ancestral land, the destruction of the environment, the undermining of their rich agricultural practices, their food sovereignty, the destruction of their safe and peaceful lifestyle, and the enrichment of a few at their expense,” said Sustaining the Wild Coast (SWC) spokesperson Andrew Bennie
Bennie said SWC had been working with the Xolobeni community of the Amadiba area in its struggle against the proposed titanium mining and N2 Toll Road for nearly 20 years.
He said the people were determined not to be dispossessed of their land and impoverished by mining.
“The “Right2sayno court case is not only significant for the landowners of Xolobeni. Many other mining affected communities in South Africa are supporting the case because the Amadiba story is also their story,” said Bennie.
“The struggle of the Amadiba is emblematic of the struggle of indigenous rural communities all over the world as extractive industries inflict destruction on their land in pursuit of so called ‘development’.”
He said the case came amid an intensified debate about land ownership in South Africa
“Xolobeni is a rural community under threat of land expropriation to benefit a foreign mining company and a political elite. How serious is the government about land rights for its citizens if it continues to enable the expropriation of land for mining from rural black communities?”
The Right2sayno court case follows the first Kwazulunatal Mining Indaba held in Newcastle this week.
The two-day indaba presented an opportunity for delegates to deliberate on issues that will help in transforming the sector and “unlock mining value-chain opportunities” in KZN.
Opening the indaba, Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe condemned the delays that had led to the huge backlog in processing licences.
“When I went to the Department of Mineral Resources I discovered there were backlogs because people were having interests. They want to delay this so that at the last moment they squeeze in their preferred bidder and give them mining,” said Mantashe.
The district of Amajuba, in the north of the province, is among the province’s top coal regions with eight operating mines and 14 abandoned ones. The full potential of most is said to remain untapped.
He said his department was consulting all stakeholders, including workers and communities on the mining charter.
“Government is not relating to mining as a policeman. As a partner of mining we want them to do the right thing. Workers are not the enemy of the industry. We must involve them. Communities, until we appreciate that they are our partners will continue behaving in a way that is disruptive,” said Mantashe.
Kwazulu-natal Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC Sihle Zikalala said discussions from the summit were aimed at growing the economy of Kwazulu-natal.
Zikhalala said despite its small size, the mining sector in Kwazulu-natal remained key to the provincial economy.
“Other than the direct employment, output and foreign exchange contribution of the sector, it is clear that a number of synergies exist between the industry and other secondary sector players in the province hence the potential for beneficiation along the mineral value chains is strong.”
Last year mining contributed R9 billion to the provincial gross domestic product representing about 1.9%.
The sector employed 4 000 employees directly, rising to more than 15 000 indirectly.
Delegates at the indaba were told that KZN had substantial reserves for a number of minerals including mineral sands and coal with a good promise for unlocking future value.
But what rights affected communities have to oppose the awarding of mining rights is the question the North Gauteng High Court will be asked to address this week.