A ‘BREAK the BRICS day of action’ protest march ahead of the BRICS summit will be hosted by the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) today, August 23.
The march will begin from Speakers Corner (45 Bram Fischer Road) to the office of the Consulate General of India (1 Kingsmead Boulevard Road) from 09:00 to 12:00.
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BRICS is an acronym for the powerful grouping of the world’s leading emerging market economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The BRICS mechanism aims to promote peace, security, development and cooperation. It also aims at contributing significantly to the development of humanity and establishing a more equitable and fair world.
SDCEA’s oil, gas and livelihoods project officer, Janeira Reddy said, “We want to raise awareness about the Ukraine war, the Jindal mine, and highlight the need to develop Melmoth and Eshowe.
“BRICS governments often use radical rhetoric alluding to anti-imperialism, and in this year’s summit, they will undoubtedly impress upon the rest of Africa that their corporations offer better investments in infrastructure, mining, energy, and agriculture than traditional northern multinationals.
“The prospect that South Africa ‘presents a gateway for investment on the continent’ could leave Africa overwhelmed by BRICS corporations and is indicative that the trajectory of the 21st century scramble for Africa has already begun.
“Africa’s resource curse will attract billions of dollars worth of BRICS infrastructure developments. The people of Melmoth and Eshowe are fighting against Jindal Mine wanting to relocating thousands of homes and graves for iron mining. The impact of the United Phosphorus Limited on affected residents that exploded in July 2021, continues to be felt in both poor black neighbourhoods and middle-class suburbs.
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“Africa’s survival is largely at the mercy of climate change. Climate change is driven by increased greenhouse gas emissions, which is fueled by South Africa and other BRICS countries that continue to rely on and supply their northern counterparts with dirty, non-renewable sources of energy, or the products created from dirty energy.
“Inequality, lack of adequate infrastructure, increased levels of violence, state repression, and the exploitation of resources to the detriment of people’s livelihoods and their ability to live in a healthy relationship with their environments, are all symptoms of development not oriented towards people, but rather government and corporate profit,” Reddy added.
The BRICS summit is set to be held from August 22 to 24, in Johannesburg.
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