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A high-level delegation of government officials made an oversight visit to the proposed Musina Makhado Special Economic Zone North Site (circled) on the farm Antonvilla just north of Musina last week. During the event, the Limpopo MEC for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Mr Thabo Mokone, again highlighted the project as their flagship programme for industrial transformation.  Again, not everyone shared his and other propagators of the project’s enthusiasm. Map supplied.

Government trying to steamroller MMSEZ project, says SOLVE

Date: 08 July 2022 By: Andries van Zyl

Limpopo MEC for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism Mr Thabo Mokone once again hailed the proposed Musina Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) as the be-all and end-all of the province’s economic growth during a high-level government oversight visit to the MMSEZ’s proposed North Site on the farm Artonvilla last week. Not all, however, share the government’s enthusiasm, with some organisations accusing them of trying to “steamroller” the project and ignoring legal processes.

The proposed MMSEZ just north of the Soutpansberg in the pristine Limpopo River basin has been shrouded in controversy since it was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018. The guest list to last week’s visit included top names such as the deputy minister of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), Mr Fikile Majola, Limpopo Premier Stanley Mathabatha, MMSEZ SOC board chairman Dr Mofasi Lekota, executive members of the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET), as well as the mayors of Vhembe, Musina and Makhado.

In his speech, Mokone again marketed the MMSEZ as Limpopo’s flagship programme for transformative industrialisation and sustainable economic growth which, according to him, promises a bright future for the people of Limpopo. He said that the SEZ also formed part of the approved Limpopo Industrial Master Plan for 2020 to 2030. “This plan shall change the structure of the Limpopo economy. The department, in partnership with the DTIC, will continue to strengthen our investment in the provincial industrial parks of the MMSEZ,” said Mokone.

Mokone once again focussed only on the “positives” of this mega-industrialisation project, calling it a first for the country. He again mentioned that the project has attracted R150 billion in investment (mainly from the Chinese) for the proposed energy and metallurgical cluster and will create approximately 21 000 direct and indirect jobs in the short and medium term.

The MMSEZ will concentrate on manufacturing, agro-processing and logistics. A heavy industrial park aimed at, according to Mokone, renewable energy and a metallurgical complex will also be part of the project. This will include a coking plant, ferrochromium plant, ferromanganese plant, pig-iron plant, carbon-steel plant, stainless-steel plant, lime plant, silicon-manganese plant, metal-silicon plant and calcium-carbide plant.

Regarding the above, the biggest question from those opposed to the project has been where the water and electricity will be coming from to feed this SEZ monster. South-Africa is already in an electricity crisis, with Eskom struggling to supply in the demand and having to rely on the process of load shedding to keep the lights on. As for water, the situation is as dire. The region selected for the proposed SEZ is situated in a water- scarce area, with the propagators of the project refusing to accept that the Limpopo River’s catchment is closed, meaning that all the available water has been allocated, and that some has been over-allocated.

According to Mokone, however, no reason exists to worry. He said that Eskom had already started with the inception-and-scoping report for bulk electricity infrastructure of the MMSEZ. This is said to include a 1000 megawatt solar-power plant to be constructed in the SEZ at a value of $1.5 billion and to be implemented by the Huadian Hong Kong Ltd company that has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Limpopo government.

As for the availability of water, Mokone said very little, except that the MMSEZ also has targeted bulk-services projects that will include a water pipeline, water treatment plant, reservoir and a stormwater-drainage system.

In reaction to Mokone’s speech, Mr Johan Fourie, the chairman of Save our Limpopo Valley Environment (SOLVE), said that they were not really surprised by anything that was said since this was merely “a copy of what we have in the EIA reports, as well as what we have heard from consultants and developers”.

“As always it contains a lot of half-truths and is nothing more than a wish list of what LEDET/LEDA and the provincial government are planning, but with little substance,” said Fourie.

Fourie said that, besides the fact that local communities had never been consulted on the location of the MMSEZ (or the projects envisaged for the area), they had also been assured by the consultants responsible for the EIA that each of the heavy metallurgical projects mentioned would have to undergo an individual EIA in order to get environmental authorisation and get an individual water-use license. “None of the projects mentioned by the MEC have therefore been through the required legal processes and been granted authorisation! The existing EIA and authorisation received are merely for the debushing of the site and installation of some of the bulk infrastructure,” said Fourie.

As for the provision of water for the development, Fourie said that the same promises were made to the Musina community to alleviate the water shortages in town. “As we have heard before, some of these water projects will take more than 10 years to materialise, and the short-time projects planned will not provide sufficient water for the MMSEZ and Musina town,” said Fourie.

Fourie said that from the MEC’s speech the provincial government was clearly trying to steamroller the project through without following the required legal processes. “This is despite the appeals against the environmental authorisation granted and despite the fact that the impact of the MMSEZ and associated projects was ever assessed. A number of organizations and NPOs are now involved in taking legal action to ensure that the proper processes are followed and that the regional impact study (which we have asked for for years) is conducted,” said Fourie.

Fourie said that they wanted to reiterate once more that they were not against the MMSEZ per se, but that they had a real concern about the kinds of projects (heavy metallurgical projects that are very water intensive and contribute greatly to air, water and soil pollution) being planned. “We are of the opinion that there are much more appropriate, sustainable and environmentally friendly projects that can be considered and that will also provide as many job opportunities and alleviate poverty as the projects mentioned by the MEC. As for the smart city … another pipe dream of the government that will never materialise since it makes no socio-economic and development sense,” said Fourie

 

 
 
 

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Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

 
 

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