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Rico Euripidou. PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT BILL [B 49-2013 ] DATE: 14-16 January 2014. Who is groundWork?.
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Rico Euripidou PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT BILL [B 49-2013] DATE: 14-16 January 2014
Who is groundWork? • Environmental Justice organisation based in Pietermaritzburg, working throughout South Africa on Climate and Energy Justice; Coal; Waste; Environmental Health – supported by Media/Publications and Environmental Justice School • From waste dump sites to the United Nations • From challenging to supporting government • From pollution hotspots to corporate boardrooms
What is environmental justice? • Often describes and considered as what is environmental injustice: • People getting ill because of poor air quality caused energy choices (burning coal indoors because of lack of affordable electricity) • Workers dying because of poor industrial standards (Thor Chemicals; Asbestosis; Silicosis) • People’s water polluted because of industrial water pollution (Acid Mine Drainage) • People’s health being affected because of poor services (cholera outbreak in South Africa) • A positive rendition of environmental justice: • Empoweredpeople in relations of solidarity and equity with each other and in non-degrading and positive relationships with their environments.
Section 24: South African Constitution Section 24 of the South African Constitution guarantees the right to an environment that is not harmful to health or well-being; and to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that - (i) prevent pollution and ecological degradation; (ii) promote conservation; and (iii) secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources whilepromoting justifiable economic and social development.
Schedule 1: Confusion open to abuse • groundWork is concerned about the broad and undefined manner in which Schedule 1 is presented: How are determinations made on “significant economic or social importance". • This law could be abused as in the case of Sasol, where the apartheid government used state resources to foster a technology and industry that has had huge financial benefit for private investors since the 1980s when it was privatised. • More specifically, “economic facilities, mines, oil or gas pipelines, refineries and other institutions” are too vague a listing that could and probably will be open to the exploitation of state funds for private benefit.
National Environmental Management Act: Limitations where most needed! • Schedule 2: • The processes set out in Schedule 2 provide a framework and guide for the implementation of any strategic integrated project, but the time-frames in Schedule 2 may not be exceeded. • Just over two months public engagement/ consultation on projects that have the greatest potential risk to society • Ports and harbours • Mines • Oil or gas pipelines, refineries or other installations • Power stations or installations for harnessing any source of energy (incineration)
Small scale farmers to loose land to new dig-out port in south Durban
Eskom: Delays – 2012 to 2015 who is to blame? World Bank report on Medupi, 12 December 2013 “A combination of start-up delays, design changes, contractor coordination issues, poor contractor performance, and labordisputes have been the main causes for the delays” • No mention of environmental issues. • These delays are all post environmental authorisation. • Important: Eskom wants to delay placing pollution abatement equipment on plant.
Eskom: Delays – 2012 to 2015 who is to blame? Water – purposefully ignored • In the EIA and broad planning phase for the Waterberg, government purposefully ignored the water challenge and hoped that society would do as well. If there was a more thorough consultation with society, Eskom and government would have realised that they could not ignore water risk. • Ignoring water now means that the pollution abatement equipment to protect health is being delayed. • If there was meaningful planning and consideration of environmental issues from the outset SA would probably have not needed to build Medupi and Kusile whose legacy will be henceforth negative. • COST OF DELAYS: from R70 billion to over R200 billion
Development should ensure … • People working for reasonable remuneration, rather than dehumanising and exploitative but rather in conditions that are safe, rewarding and secure; • Communities having decent levels of affordable basic services and infrastructure to be enjoyed by all and not only those that can afford them; • Individuals and families able to access at a minimum the basic goods of human life starting with nutrition and safe and comfortable accommodation; and • Clean and healthy environments – where people live and work – that is nurtured by the very way people in which people live. groundWork supports the principle of streamlined and integrated mechanisms to ensure that critical infrastructure developments that give meaning to the above are considered and approved. These processes will ensure that society moves out of poverty sooner, and are not doomed to further impoverishment. No mention is made of poverty alleviation is made in the objectives of the Bill.
