On 14 December 2021, in the run-up to the court hearings in the second interdict (heard on 17 December) brought against Shell to stop its planned seismic survey off the Wild Coast, communities responded in strength and unity to Minister Mantashe’s disparaging statements regarding the overwhelming public pushback. Green Connection Legacy graduate Ntsindiso Nongcavu from Port St John’s says, “We categorically reject Minister Mantashe’s attempt to divide the powerful opposition, which continues to build, against mining oil and gas in our oceans.”
Wild Coastfishing communities of Dwesa-Cwebe, Port St John’s and Amadiba (in the Eastern Cape) have written a scathing open letter to Minister Mantashe following his statements last week – which communities found both insulting and misleading – when he claimed that the people protesting against Shell’s seismic survey off the Wild Coast have an “apartheid and colonial” agenda. The letter also addresses Minister for Environment Barbara Creecy.
Ntsindiso Nongcavu from Port St John’s, a leader of one of the many small-scale fishing communities along this coast that has fishing rights says, “Minister Mantashe insults us when he implies that the fight to protect our oceans, our source of livelihood, from corporations like Shell is only the struggle of white environmentalists. This is all of our struggle. The sea is our Great Home. It is the source of all life and is a sacred place, as it is the home of many of our Ancestors. We are angry that he dare question our beliefs and our choices, and how he is trying to make it seem as though we cannot think for ourselves”
The fishing communities are also angry that they were not consulted about the survey,
The Dwesa-Cwebe CPA asks “We would like to ask Minister Mantashe why his Department did not bother to make sure that Impact and SHELL consulted us? Does he care so little about our children’s lives and our livelihoods? We believe that Minister Mantashe has neglected his duty of care towards us and our communities when he did not ensure that we were consulted and since he did not check that what Shell was planning to do would not cause harm to the fish we depend on to feed our families and make a living.”
These communities know that they will not be the beneficiaries of any economic gains made from oil and gas extraction and demand to know from Minister Mantashe: “Are you aware that Oil and Gas mining does not create jobs for ordinary, poor rural coastal communities who have been marginalized, not just through colonialism and apartheid but are now being marginalized by our own so-called democratic government through Operation Phakisa?”
We are fed up with not being listened to, for so many years. Did you listen to what we said in 2016 when the Portfolio Committee on Environment came to ask us if we wanted the Marine Spatial Planning Bill? Did you take us seriously? Do you not realise that oil and gas exploration and extraction will not only damage marine ecosystems but will also intensify the climate crisis? Do you realise that we will be the ones who suffer when there is no more fish in the sea?”
Therefore, the fishing communities call on ministers Mantashe and Creecy to do their work of protecting and ensuring equitable use of natural resources that should be there for the benefit of all South Africans.
Ntsindiso Nongcavu says, “We believe that both Minister Mantashe and Minister Creecy have a responsibility, as Trustees of our oceans and coasts and our fish, to protect them. Seismic testing will impact our fish and other marine life and will affect the ecosystems they need to flourish. Continuing to exploit our oceans will increase our carbon emissions (thereby exacerbating climate change) and take our country into extreme poverty and hunger. All the while, only a few will enjoy the wealth. We want wellbeing for all – not wealth for a few! We categorically reject Minister Mantashe’s attempt to divide the powerful opposition, which continues to build, against mining oil and gas in our oceans.”
“Minister Mantashe, we reject your simplistic dismissal of the resistance to Shell completely. In fact, we are not only resisting Shell but we are saying that we – as Black, African fishers and ordinary South Africans – have the RIGHT TO SAY NO TO MINING. This fight for communities to have a say in and determine what developments go ahead in their areas, is something we are seeing all over the country. For instance, in Limpopo Province communities are fighting against harmful coal projects that pollute the air they breathe and destroys the environment. However, we rely on the African Charter on Human Rights which gives us the right to choose our own path of development and to do what we believe is best with our natural resources,” says Nonhle Mbuthuma, spokesperson for Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC).
Links to the open letter:
BENDING OVER BACKWARDS, DMRE GIVES KARPOWERSHIPS ANOTHER BREAK
30 September 2021 was supposed to be the commercial close – a date set by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) – for bidders in the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (RMI4P).
TOSACO EIA MET WITH PUSHBACK FROM CIVIL SOCIETY, TO PROTECT THE OCEAN AND SMALL-SCALE FISHER LIVELIHOODS
This week, The Green Connection submitted its comments critiquing several aspects of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, particularly the lack of procedural fairness, as well as the conclusions reached – notwithstanding information gaps and scientific uncertainty – that should form part Tosaco Energy’s request to undertake various activities in Block 1, off the West Coast.
RECENTLY GRADUATED GREEN CONNECTORS, EQUIPPED FOR THE POLLS AND READY TO WEIGH-IN ON COP26
Following their recent graduation from The Green Connection’s Legacy Champions Programme, these newly empowered Green Connectors say they feel equipped with the necessary advocacy skills to make positive changes in their communities, starting with their vote in the local elections (1 November) and weighing in on the discussions around COP26 (which starts on 31 October) – as part of their efforts to oppose oil and gas developments in the country and offshore.
GREEN CONNECTION’S ‘FUNERAL FOR THE CLIMATE’ (AFRICAN ENERGY WEEK) AND COMMENT ON YESTERDAY’S BUDGET SPEECH
This week (10 November 2021), we joined other environmental defenders in Cape Town to peacefully demonstrate outside the African Energy Week #AEW2021 conference venue demanding an end to fossil fuels and the immediate pivot toward the just transition to a renewable energy future.
CLOSE TO 200 PEOPLE RISE AT CRACK OF DAWN TO PROTEST THE ARRIVAL OF SHELL’S SEISMIC MONSTER, AMAZON WARRIOR
On Sunday morning, (21 November 2021), before the crack of dawn, nearly 200 concerned environmental defenders took to the Waterfront to get a glimpse of Shell’s seismic testing vessel, Amazon Warrior, as it made its way into Cape Town harbour. The vessel travelled down the West coast of Africa, on its way to the Wild Coast, to conduct seismic surveys for an estimated five (5) months.
ENVIRONMENTALISTS DOUBLE-UP ON EFFORTS TO OPPOSE UPCOMING AND FURTHER SEISMIC TESTING IN SOUTH AFRICA’S OCEANS
As the groundswell of opposition against Shell’s upcoming 3D seismic survey off the Transkei builds, the Green Connection – an ecojustice NGO that supports small-scale fishers in advocating for their livelihoods – reacted with astonishment to a press statement issued by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) on 9 December 2021.