No to the authorisation of drilling for oil and gas drilling on our beautiful Indian Ocean

EDITOR – The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance strongly opposes the department of mineral resources decision to grant authorisation to Sasol and Eni to drill for oil and gas in our beautiful Indian Ocean.

SDCEA and many other community groupings have worked tirelessly to put together a document to oppose this decision that was granted without proper consultation, all facts placed before the regulator. Monday, 21 October, was a turning point where SDCEA and other interested and affected parties sent through their appeal to the department of environmental affairs on 10 grounds.

The SDCEA view was based on nine substantive grounds that was highly researched that the scope of the EIA is too narrow; legally flawed assessment of risks and impacts of a catastrophic oil spill; failure to consider climate change impacts; failure to adequately assess the no-go option; inadequate need and desirability assessment; failure to adequately assess the impacts on marine ecology; failure to adequately assess the heritage impacts; the proponent is not fit and proper to hold an environmental authorisation; and failure to adequately assess the socio-economic impacts.

There was one procedural ground based on the inadequate public participation. There is no consideration taken into account of how this exploration is going to affect the thousands of subsistence fishers who depend on the ocean for a livelihood, as well people in the tourism and recreation industry whose source of income depends on the ocean. It is evident that oil rigs have dire consequences on the environment and marine life in the case of the Deepwater Horizon, accident in 2010 where more than 200 million gallons of crude oil was spilled into the Gulf of Mexico killing 11 workers and destroying an abundance of marine life.

The international panel on climate change has warned that we need to reduce GHG emissions urgently. Allowing Sasol and ENI to do this, clearly says that the South African government has no regard for climate change and violates the government’s commitment to the Paris agreement signed in 2015.

We urge the minister of forestry and fisheries and environmental affairs, Barbara Creecy, to reject the decision of the department of mineral and energy resources. The ocean belongs to the people of South Africa, therefore we should have a say of what happens to it. And we say no to oil and gas.

SHERELEE ODAYAR

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