Revoke mining right

By John GI Clark

Stephan Hofstatter’s report on the shenanigans surrounding the Wild Coast mining saga refers (Transkei dead’s nod to dune deal, March 5). So it is at the discretion of the minister whether or not to revoke a mining right, even when there is clear evidence of a fraud having been perpetrated to secure a mining right by the holders thereof.

The latest evidence of fraudulently obtained lists of people, many of whom are long deceased, on “certificates” stating their free and informed consent for the Xolobeni Mining venture on the Wild Coast, provides Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu with a more than adequate basis to revoke the mining right immediately.

By so doing she will not only bring a merciful end to the protracted and costly appeal process that has dragged on for more than 16 months, but also clear the way for the amaDiba residents to unite in a last-minute effort to ready themselves to attract Soccer World Cup tourists.

At the recent appeal hearing, which was postponed by chairman Patekile Holomisa, I pleaded on behalf of the amaDiba community with whom I have been working for the past two years, to heed President Jacob Zuma ’s call for South Africans to unite to put our best foot forward in welcoming visitors to SA this year for the World Cup.

What do we want those tourists to take home with them after the World Cup is over? Newspaper reports of a ridiculous legal wrangle over the non- renewable titanium resources buried in the Wild Coast dunes? Or happy stories of their walks through indigenous forests, their swims on pristine beaches, their canoeing up spectacular estuaries on the Wild Coast, and their accounts of extraordinary hospitality and warmth from the amaDiba?

Please, Minister Shabangu, be true to your oath of office, and exercise your powers to summarily revoke the Xolobeni mining licence right now.

John GI Clarke

Social worker for amaDiba community residents on the Wild Coast

http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=95715