Thousands of people who reside in the Palmietkuilen area near Springs will have to be relocated if plans to develop an open cast coal mine is approved.
The final Environmental Impact Assessment shareholders meeting is set to take place on Saturday (May 20) at the Stable-Inn Marquee Hall and although the promise of employment opportunities may capture the imaginations of the poor, the reality is many jobs will become available during the construction phase, only 350 people will gain full-time employment once the mine is operational.
Of the 350 workers many are likely to already be employees of the mining group.
Approximately 4500 people call the informal settlement of Zenzela home and in total close to 9500 people will have to be relocated for this mining project to continue.
There are two schools located in the settlement and the area is known for its impeccable agricultural yield.
It is envisioned that a minimum of 200 000 tons of coal will be mined monthly over a period of 53 years in an area of 1000 hectares.
The mine will then supply coal power stations with the surplus to be exported.
What is baffling to the community is that Eskom in February announced that five of its coal power stations will be shut down in order to accommodate renewable independent power producers.
The stations are the 3 000MW Kriel, 1 000 MW Komati, 2 000 MW Hendrina, the 1 600 MW Camden and Grootvlei power station, all in Mpumalanga.
From an environmental impact point of view apart from the air and noise pollution that are part and parcel of open cast mining, fears also exist that the contaminated water will find its way into the Blesbokspruit which feeds the RAMSAR protected Marievale Bird Sanctuary.
The Marievale Bird Sanctuary is located 6km downstream from where they plan to mine.
A recent survey which was published indicates that there are 17 boreholes that could be affected by the mine.
Residents are, however, outraged after this study was conducted labeling it as preposterous because in Vischkuil and Endicott alone there are 403 boreholes.
It was also confirmed that fracking (the process of injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks and boreholes so as to force open existing fissures and extract oil or gas) will also take place in the area.
Still on the topic of fauna and flora, Ashton Lake Dam will no longer be home to many fish species, flamingoes, ducks and other creatures that have relocated to this area due to mining operations from as far as Witbank.
Several transport companies, fabrication and construction companies and other family businesses that have been a source of income for the region for many years will have to be shut down to make space for the mine.
Residents fear that although some of them have been promised compensation for their land, that it is only lip service from the eager mining company.
Other places of interest that will be destroyed if this project continues include an Anglo Boer War cemetery, Hartebees Cottages that are still occupied by families who have lived there for decades and the Witpoortjie Memorial.
Adding further frustration to residents who have exhausted all channels to prevent this project from seeing the light of day – the matter was eventually referred to the Gauteng Legislature – is the “somewhat suspect” route that was followed to inform the community of public participation meetings and the like.
“Notification of these meetings was often delayed and notices were placed in areas where people would never see it,” a resident told HERAUT.
The people in this area feel that government has failed them as has been the case for the last 17 years.
The proposed mine falls under the jurisdiction of Lesedi Local Municipality (LLM) – a municipality known for its poor administration and even poorer service delivery.
The Palmietkuilen area is situated on LMM’s furthest north eastern border and according to the community it often takes up to four months for a simple task like garbage to be removed.
The roads in the area have not been attended to in the last 17 years and to add insult to injury, it would appear that infrastructure development was not budgeted for during the latest IDP.
“We pay our rates and taxes, yet we get no service. No service whatsoever,” another disgruntled resident told HERAUT.
“When travelling in a truck it can take up to two hours for any engineer or construction worker to get to this part of Lesedi. They have forgotten about us and this mine that may open here is an example of just how little they care.
In a final throw of the dice the group of residents who have been opposed to the open cast mine from day one, brought their grievances under the attention of lobby groups AfriForum and Solidariteit, but have yet to receive acknowledgement of their requests for assistance.
“I sometimes wonder why I even bothered paying my membership fees to these people. They simply ignore us and look at the situation we are in now.”
