LOCAL activists have raised concerns over plans to increase offshore drilling as outlined by President Jacob Zuma in the first phase of Operation Phakisa.
The operation, which was launched in July, is in line with the goals of the National Development Plan to increase job creation and encourage economic growth in South Africa. The president announced at the Durban ICC on Wednesday, 15 October that the first focus of Operation Phakisa was on ocean economy.
In his speech, President Zuma stated the vast potential of the ocean had not been fully taken advantage of. “The oceans have the potential to contribute up to R177-billion rand to the gross domestic product.”
But Earthlife Africa Durban (ELA) and the South Durban Community Environment Alliance (SDCEA) believe Phakisa has little to do with poverty alleviation and everything to do with profits for corporates.
They are disturbed by the speed with which public participation for projects like oil exploration take place. “Phakisa means to hurry up, and while we would like government to hurry up and provide better health care, water and sanitation, affordable electricity, education, housing, and service delivery, public participation is something which should certainly not be hurried, especially when these plans could have such devastating long-term consequences,” said the activists in an email statement.
The president listed four areas of potential oceanic growth – marine transport and manufacturing, offshore oil and gas exploration, aquaculture and marine protection services and ocean governance.
Offshore oil and gas exploration has long been a contentious point for ELA and SDCEA. “Our coast could be subject to huge oil spills comparable to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, with disastrous long-term consequences for the tourism and fishing industries. Were these plans to go ahead, the climate crisis would be amplified and South Africa’s own carbon-budget strategy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 34% by 2020 would be sabotaged. Already our emission rate per person is 43% higher than the global average,” they said.
There is an estimated nine billion barrels of oil and 11-billion barrels of natural gas in reserve untapped off SA’s shores. “The vast amount of oil in existing reserves are known as the ‘carbon bubble,’ or ‘unburnable reserves’, because if these reserves are actually brought into production, then climate change will enter the runaway stage, with extreme consequences for many species’ survival, including our own. We should definitely not be exploring for any new reserves,” said ELA and SDCEA.
While the President announced in his speech that emergency response drills, an oil spill response capacity and the opening of the International Oil Pollution and Compensation Fund form part of the offshore oil and gas exploration long term plans, the activists remain alarmed about the potential for oil spills and other environmental disasters and state that seismic testing, which will be used to search for reserves, is harmful to marine wildlife.
“There is cause for concern as whales have been washed ashore and fled in panic after exposure to sonar systems. The impacts of this have been thoroughly studied and show that whales, dolphins, fish, squid and turtles are all clearly impacted by seismic testing.”
The second phase of Operation Phakisa began on Monday, 13 October and focuses on health. The activists said it is an absolute indictment of President Zuma’s priorities that the second, more critical phase was not the first. “In other words our government will ‘hurry up’ when it comes to providing subsidies for multi-national corporations, but will take a long time when it comes to more urgent matters like improving our healthcare system.”
ELA and SDCEA request all South Africans support their campaign against oil exploration and for the search for environmentally sustainable solutions. “It is time for South Africa to reject fossil fuels and to move towards a sustainable future by improving public transport, localising the economy, pursuing natural farming and renewable energy.”
