Residents travel to Pretoria to hand over petition
Creecy’s decision to set aside the granting of the mining licence to Anglo Operations was mostly due to the impact the mine would have on the agricultural land in the area.
Last Wednesday morning, approximately 500 residents from ward 75 gathered at the Slovo Park Taxi Rank to head to Pretoria.
The residents were on their way to Pretoria to hand over a memorandum expressing their displeasure at Canyon Coal not being granted a mining licence.
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“The company interacted with the community and we were in favour of the investment they would bring to Springs.
“The mine would have brought jobs into the community, seeing as though the mine had a life span of 45 years.
“As a result of the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Barbara Creecy’s decision to overturn the decision by Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) to grant a licence to Anglo Operation, three other potential mining companies have either lost their applications or withdrew them,” says Zwelibanzi Yende, a community leader who was part of the group headed to Pretoria.
Creecy’s decision to set aside the granting of the mining licence to Anglo Operations was mostly due to the impact the mine would have on the agricultural land in the area.
“Whilst I am aware of the social benefits of the proposed mining, I find that such does not outweigh the need to protect and preserve the prime agricultural land.
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“The said area has been utilised for agricultural activities for generations and can go on to be used for such, provided soil disturbances are avoided.
“One of the biggest threats to the retention of productive agricultural land is the conflict between agriculture and mining land uses.
“With the matter at hand, I find that it is vital to preserve the current land use, namely commercial agriculture,” said Creecy in her ruling.
Yende went on to say Springs desperately needed the investment, with the CBD in particular, long overdue for revitilisation.
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“We have seen how other towns like Delmas, Middelburg and Witbank have benefited from coal mining,” says Yende.
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