THE African National Congress (ANC) has admitted that bribery and vote buying are widespread in its branches and threaten to subvert its internal democracy.
In discussion papers released ahead of its national general council meeting in Durban next month, the party said money increasingly influenced the outcome of elections in the party. It raised the question of whether members with money had more influence than the rest of the membership. It also warned of the increasing use of violence and of meetings and conferences being disrupted by disgruntled members.
Since its conference in Polokwane in 2007, money in the competition for party positions had grown in influence. People were even being paid to disrupt meetings, it said . Outright bribery, the provision of cellphone starter packs and free travel were some of the incentives used to buy votes. The party proposed an integrity committee to probe allegations of improper conduct. This would help to "prevent misdemeanours" and protect "genuine black business people and entrepreneurs who have links with the ANC from getting a bad name".
The ANC already has guidelines on lobbying for internal elections, but bribery and vote buying have persisted. It is concerned that funding for the party could be used to influence leadership and policies and affect its integrity. Judith February, a political analyst at democracy watchdog Idasa, said the ANC had repeatedly shown an unwillingness to regulate the funding of political parties through legislation. "We are not sure that the ANC is committed to this ... all they have done is stonewall. "
Although the ANC has never fully disclosed its funders, it said the issue needed to be debated. "Our approach towards party financing will therefore have to be broader, so that it also deals with the 'informal' party financing, which is so much more insidious and dangerous to internal democracy," it said.
The ANC has been linked to questionable funding sources, including kickbacks from the more than R30bn arms deal and a R38,5bn subcontract linked to its investment vehicle, Chancellor House, for the supply of boilers to Eskom.
Results of a study by TNS Research Surveys released on Tuesday showed that the majority of South Africans felt the ANC should not be allowed to be connected to any companies that received government tenders.
Source: All Africa
Showing posts with label Chancellor House. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chancellor House. Show all posts
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Cosatu welcomes Public Protector finding on Moosa
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Friday expressed concern after the Public Protector found that former Eskom chairperson Valli Moosa acted improperly when the utility awarded a contract for the Medupi power station to the Hitachi consortium.
Former Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana found that Moosa failed to manage a conflict of interest arising from the 25% stake of African National Congress (ANC) investment company Chancellor House in Hitachi Power Africa. This stake means that the ruling party stands to make up to R5,8-billion out of the contract. "Cosatu welcomes the report and congratulates Comrade Lawrence Mushwana for exposing the fact that the ANC stood to benefit by up to R5,8-billion," it said.
Mushwana found that Moosa, a member of the ANC's national executive committee, failed to declare the conflict of interest and failed to recuse himself from the board's deliberations. These failings could have resulted "in the reasonable perception that Mr Moosa was biased in respect of the ... award", Mushwana said in his report tabled in Parliament on Thursday. He recommended that Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan consider introducing legislation to regulate the way business is conducted between government entities and political parties.
Cosatu backed his call and said his finding was so disturbing that Eskom's 25% tariff increases over the next three years should be reviewed. "There is now a serious question mark against whether there were vested interests involved in supporting the increases." Mushwana said Moosa's improper conduct did not affect the validity of the deal, which has been criticised by the political opposition.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Former Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana found that Moosa failed to manage a conflict of interest arising from the 25% stake of African National Congress (ANC) investment company Chancellor House in Hitachi Power Africa. This stake means that the ruling party stands to make up to R5,8-billion out of the contract. "Cosatu welcomes the report and congratulates Comrade Lawrence Mushwana for exposing the fact that the ANC stood to benefit by up to R5,8-billion," it said.
Mushwana found that Moosa, a member of the ANC's national executive committee, failed to declare the conflict of interest and failed to recuse himself from the board's deliberations. These failings could have resulted "in the reasonable perception that Mr Moosa was biased in respect of the ... award", Mushwana said in his report tabled in Parliament on Thursday. He recommended that Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan consider introducing legislation to regulate the way business is conducted between government entities and political parties.
Cosatu backed his call and said his finding was so disturbing that Eskom's 25% tariff increases over the next three years should be reviewed. "There is now a serious question mark against whether there were vested interests involved in supporting the increases." Mushwana said Moosa's improper conduct did not affect the validity of the deal, which has been criticised by the political opposition.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
ANC must lay down the law on business interests or it will lose our confidence
According to the ANC, its Youth League president, Julius Malema has ‘broken no law' by tendering for state contracts and in so doing becoming a multi-millionaire. Of course they are correct because there is no law which prevents members of political parties or their spouses from doing business with the state. In addition, the ANC has no such internal party regulation. We know also that the ANC itself via its front company, Chancellor House has tendered for and won many lucrative state contracts. There have also been questions swirling around about Minister of Communications, Siphiwe Nyanda's business interests, to name but one other. That the ANC is able to respond in such a narrow, legalistic manner is however unhelpful. It seems entirely contradictory for it to speak out about a culture of acquisition and greed when its office-bearers and members are themselves using the state as the means to accumulate wealth rapaciously. The time has come for the ANC to grasp the nettle of the impact which money is having on the values of the party. Both former secretary-general, Kgalema Motlanthe and now, Gwede Mantashe have pointed this out in different ways and have tried to start a discussion within the party about declaration of members' business interests and conflicts of interest.
It is simple: senior members of the party and office bearers from branch level to national level should declare their business interests and there should be a ban on them or their spouses tendering for government contracts. In addition, the ANC should not be tendering for government contracts via Chancellor House.
Finance minister, Pravin Gordhan talked at length about ‘value for money' in his Budget speech last week. If the ANC does not institute internal party regulation, will the perception not continue to be held that the contracts awarded to Malema's companies were not the best ‘value for money' and were merely granted to his companies, because of who he is and / or undue influence being placed on officials to grant a senior ANC member contracts? One of the major stumbling blocks at local government level has, according to government's own report, been cadre deployment and the use of local government as a source of patronage to members of the ANC. Here is a moment for the ANC to follow its words with actions by creating rules of the game.
In addition, it is also time that government prioritized a centralized database for tenders ensuring full transparency in relation to who won what and who lost out and why?
Cosatu's idea of a ‘lifestyle audit' of ministers is a good one but it might not get us to the bottom of the reason for the excess which marks the lifestyles of many government ministers and party officials. Malema's lifestyle, quite apart from raising questions regarding the sources of his income goes further than simply ‘being bling'. It sheds an uncomfortable light on the shallowness of a political culture which provides a platform for the display of such an embarrassment of riches as a reward for mediocrity.
But there are also other worrying signs of excess around us. The arrest of Chumani Maxwele for raising the middle finger at the President's convoy, is an infringement on all of our right to freedom of expression. Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa has said that the student has laid a complaint and so the legal processes should be followed. This is an insufficient response. From the facts in the public domain, it was the heavy-handedness of the President's VIP unit which caused someone to be arrested - allegations are that a bag was put over his head and his house raided. The headlines seemed very reminiscent of the days when citizens in this country lived in fear of arbitrary police conduct. The moment is over-due for accountability in relation to the ‘blue light brigade' which takes over highways endangering ordinary citizens' lives while transporting politicians. This is a matter for Parliament to exercise oversight on urgently. It should use its powers to call the minister and those within the VIP Unit to account for the incident that day. It is also a matter which the President needs to provide clarity on. Is he aware of the incident which was committed in his name? If he is, does he believe that he is more equal than other citizens in this country? What are his views on the right of every citizen to freedom of expression?
The UCT students who last week protested against Maxwele's arrest were doing the right thing. The excesses of Malema and the President's VIP unit have in common an air of the ‘untouchable' about them. Both are stumbling blocks to the advancement of the right to equality as well as of a culture of accountability and must be resisted.
Source: Polity - Institute for Democracy in South Africa
It is simple: senior members of the party and office bearers from branch level to national level should declare their business interests and there should be a ban on them or their spouses tendering for government contracts. In addition, the ANC should not be tendering for government contracts via Chancellor House.
Finance minister, Pravin Gordhan talked at length about ‘value for money' in his Budget speech last week. If the ANC does not institute internal party regulation, will the perception not continue to be held that the contracts awarded to Malema's companies were not the best ‘value for money' and were merely granted to his companies, because of who he is and / or undue influence being placed on officials to grant a senior ANC member contracts? One of the major stumbling blocks at local government level has, according to government's own report, been cadre deployment and the use of local government as a source of patronage to members of the ANC. Here is a moment for the ANC to follow its words with actions by creating rules of the game.
In addition, it is also time that government prioritized a centralized database for tenders ensuring full transparency in relation to who won what and who lost out and why?
Cosatu's idea of a ‘lifestyle audit' of ministers is a good one but it might not get us to the bottom of the reason for the excess which marks the lifestyles of many government ministers and party officials. Malema's lifestyle, quite apart from raising questions regarding the sources of his income goes further than simply ‘being bling'. It sheds an uncomfortable light on the shallowness of a political culture which provides a platform for the display of such an embarrassment of riches as a reward for mediocrity.
But there are also other worrying signs of excess around us. The arrest of Chumani Maxwele for raising the middle finger at the President's convoy, is an infringement on all of our right to freedom of expression. Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa has said that the student has laid a complaint and so the legal processes should be followed. This is an insufficient response. From the facts in the public domain, it was the heavy-handedness of the President's VIP unit which caused someone to be arrested - allegations are that a bag was put over his head and his house raided. The headlines seemed very reminiscent of the days when citizens in this country lived in fear of arbitrary police conduct. The moment is over-due for accountability in relation to the ‘blue light brigade' which takes over highways endangering ordinary citizens' lives while transporting politicians. This is a matter for Parliament to exercise oversight on urgently. It should use its powers to call the minister and those within the VIP Unit to account for the incident that day. It is also a matter which the President needs to provide clarity on. Is he aware of the incident which was committed in his name? If he is, does he believe that he is more equal than other citizens in this country? What are his views on the right of every citizen to freedom of expression?
The UCT students who last week protested against Maxwele's arrest were doing the right thing. The excesses of Malema and the President's VIP unit have in common an air of the ‘untouchable' about them. Both are stumbling blocks to the advancement of the right to equality as well as of a culture of accountability and must be resisted.
Source: Polity - Institute for Democracy in South Africa
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Digging for mining licences
Coal-mining companies with black empowerment partners who have friends in high places are posing a growing threat to some of South Africa’s most sensitive environmental areas. The companies are seeking to cash in on South Africa’s coal resources, mainly in Mpumalanga, by supplying cheap coal to Eskom.
Coal-mining companies with black empowerment partners who have friends in high places are posing a growing threat to some of South Africa's most sensitive environmental areas. The companies are seeking to cash in on South Africa's coal resources, mainly in Mpumalanga, by supplying cheap coal to Eskom.
o The empowerment partners of Coal of Africa, which is prospecting near heritage and national park site Mapungubwe, include new Minister of Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale's Mvelaphanda group.
o The sister of the former trade minister Mandisi Mpahlwa, (who is President Jacob Zuma's financial adviser) Mandlakazi Mandaka, is the BEE partner of Delta Mining Company, which has been handed a permit to prospect in Wakkerstroom. Concerns have been voiced about the impact of mining on the area's important wetlands.
o In Dullstroom ANC funding vehicle Chancellor House has applied for a prospecting licence amid allegations that it is riding roughshod over local stakeholders.
o In Belfast farmers have mounted a court challenge to Exxaro, Africa's largest black-controlled diversified mining company and the biggest supplier of coal to Eskom.
The applications have pitted environmental groups such as the Escarpment Environmental Protection Group and the Mpumalanga Lakes District Protection Group (LPDG) against mining groups and have turned farmers into green activists. The activists are pointing fingers at the department of minerals and energy for favouring companies with political connections. The department has denied looking at the ownership of companies in awarding permits, except to check their BEE credentials. Many government officials, former officials and their families have decided to seek their fortune in mining through BEE deals in the coal industry.
They include Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor's husband, Sharif Pandor; former director general of trade and industry Alistair Ruiters and former minister of minerals and energy Penuell Maduna. Brigette Radebe, the wife of Justice Minister Jeff Radebe and sister of mining billionaire Patrice Motsepe, is the driving force behind Mmakau Mining, which has entered a joint venture with Total Coal SA.
The department's mineral regulation deputy director general, Jacinto Rocha, said his department would not punish anyone for having political connections. "There is no prohibition on family members [of officials] of the department or elsewhere in government getting mineral rights," he said. The fact that former political leaders had received permits was a mere coincidence. We look at compliance when we issue licences," he said. "We don't look at who is there."
Environmentalists also question Zuma's decision to move Buyelwa Sonjica from minerals and energy to environment, seeing it as a sign that BEE coal-mining interests now trump environmental concerns. Rocha strongly denied this. He said activists sometimes became very "emotional" and did not consider all the facts. "We don't issue licences on emotion, we issue them on the basis of law," he said. "After having followed the process, it does not make a department official happy or sad. It is just a yes or a no, after the process was followed to the letter. "We all have children. No one in the department says 'to hell with the environment'," he said.
Rocha said the department received 622 prospecting applications last year, of which 62 were granted and 125 denied. The others are still being processed. He named an application by an unnamed mining house in amphibian haven Chrissiesmeer, also on the Mpumalanga escarpment, as an example of an application refused on environmental grounds. The applications show that many mining companies now have the Waterberg in their sights. The Waterberg coalfield, around Lephalale in Limpopo, has 50% of South Africa's remaining coal reserves and hosts South Africa's latest power station, Medupi.
The area is home to the Waterberg biosphere, Marakele National Park and many private reserves.
Only Exxaro's Grootgeluk colliery operates in the area. But Exxaro Resources chief executive Sipho Nkosi said the Waterberg has sufficient coal to feed eight power stations and the company could be mining there for the next 200 years. Several mining houses, including BEE company Sekoko Coal, are investigating the feasibility of an open-cast coal mine in the Lephalale area and several have applied to the government for prospecting licences. Companies seeking prospecting licences must submit environmental management plans, which involve consultation with the owners or lawful occupiers of the land in question. In many cases, however, landowners and interested parties dispute that there has been adequate consultation. The department must also submit applications to the water affairs and environmental affairs departments. In many sensitive cases these claim they did not see licence applications or, as in the case of Mapungubwe learned of them only at the last minute. The law provides that sister departments have 60 days in which to react to environmental management plans. "If there is no response, we take it that the department has nothing to say," said Rocha. "You can't blame us if someone in another department doesn't do their job."
Coal of Africa (CoAL), the driver of a controversial proposed mining venture near world heritage site Mapungubwe, has powerful allies. Its BEE partner is the Mvelaphanda group, headed by Tokyo Sexwale before he was appointed to Cabinet. Mvelaphanda owns a stake in CoAL through African Global Capital (AGC), which owns a 26% stake. But the connections do not end there. Former intelligence director general Vusi Mavimbela is the executive director of Mvelaphanda responsible for business strategy and African expansion. This week Mavimbela was tipped to become the director general in President Jacob Zuma's office.
CoAL's mining application has sparked a public outcry, with South African National Parks and even the former minister of environmental affairs, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, speaking out against the proposed mining. But CoAL's chief operating officer, Riaan van der Merwe, said the park and the mine could coexist. "We know there is a lot of emotion around coal mining, particularly considering the scars left by mines in the Witbank area," he said. "But mining methods have changed drastically." He said CoAL took its environmental responsibilities seriously and intended managing the mine in line with the vision of the proposed Transfrontier Conservancy Area. Among the measures planned at the mine were the use of strobe lighting when reversing trucks, rather than a warning beep. High-noise activities such as blasting will also be restricted to between 8am and 4pm. He said the mine was far enough from Mapungubwe not to disturb the park. All baobab trees uprooted as part of mining operations would be lifted and replanted.
CoAL has 74% ownership of the project, with the remaining 26% held by several BEE groups, according to Van der Merwe. He would not disclose their identity.
Environmental groups regard the Delta Mining Corporation's (DMC) exploration for torbanite and coal in the Wakkerstroom region as the gravest threat this environmentally sensitive area has faced. The groups, including World Wildlife Fund South Africa, the Botanical Society and Birdlife South Africa, have objected to the granting of prospecting rights in more than 20 000ha of pristine grassland and wetland. They and local farmers have joined forces against Delta in two high court applications for the prospecting rights to be revoked.
Central to their case is the weak environmental management plan, which the Mail & Guardian has seen. The report turns a blind eye to the pristine state of the area and to its biodiversity, including rare birds such as wattled cranes and other red data species.
Investigative programme 50/50 revealed that the sister of former minister of trade and industry (Mandisi Mpahlwa, who is Jacob Zuma's financial adviser), Mandlakazi Madaka, is the BEE partner in DMC's venture in Wakkerstroom. "We are aware of reports of who our BEE partners are, though we are not aware of any concerns, certainly we have none," said Delta chairperson Bernard Swanepoel. He said Delta Mining was a private company whose shares were mainly held by its chief executive and founder, Heine van Niekerk. An investment company in which Swanepoel is a director, To The Point Growth Specialists, owns 30% and the rest is held by the management team, he said. Swanepoel denied allegations that the environmental management plan used to secure prospecting rights in Wakkerstroom was fatally flawed. "We outsourced two scoping studies to two separate independent competent persons," he said. "We are confident that the process we ran was thorough and professional. Although some areas were identified as sensitive, none were identified as irreplaceable and our exploration process will ensure that sensitive areas are left undisturbed," he said. Swanepoel said the DMC property is not adjacent to or in the wetlands. "Our property is about 20km away and about 200m lower than (or downstream of) the wetlands in the area," he said. "About two-thirds of our prospecting area is old or current mealie fields. Consequently our property and the land we plan to explore will allow for coal extraction that should in no way affect the wetlands."
Source: Mail & Guardian
Coal-mining companies with black empowerment partners who have friends in high places are posing a growing threat to some of South Africa's most sensitive environmental areas. The companies are seeking to cash in on South Africa's coal resources, mainly in Mpumalanga, by supplying cheap coal to Eskom.
o The empowerment partners of Coal of Africa, which is prospecting near heritage and national park site Mapungubwe, include new Minister of Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale's Mvelaphanda group.
o The sister of the former trade minister Mandisi Mpahlwa, (who is President Jacob Zuma's financial adviser) Mandlakazi Mandaka, is the BEE partner of Delta Mining Company, which has been handed a permit to prospect in Wakkerstroom. Concerns have been voiced about the impact of mining on the area's important wetlands.
o In Dullstroom ANC funding vehicle Chancellor House has applied for a prospecting licence amid allegations that it is riding roughshod over local stakeholders.
o In Belfast farmers have mounted a court challenge to Exxaro, Africa's largest black-controlled diversified mining company and the biggest supplier of coal to Eskom.
The applications have pitted environmental groups such as the Escarpment Environmental Protection Group and the Mpumalanga Lakes District Protection Group (LPDG) against mining groups and have turned farmers into green activists. The activists are pointing fingers at the department of minerals and energy for favouring companies with political connections. The department has denied looking at the ownership of companies in awarding permits, except to check their BEE credentials. Many government officials, former officials and their families have decided to seek their fortune in mining through BEE deals in the coal industry.
They include Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor's husband, Sharif Pandor; former director general of trade and industry Alistair Ruiters and former minister of minerals and energy Penuell Maduna. Brigette Radebe, the wife of Justice Minister Jeff Radebe and sister of mining billionaire Patrice Motsepe, is the driving force behind Mmakau Mining, which has entered a joint venture with Total Coal SA.
The department's mineral regulation deputy director general, Jacinto Rocha, said his department would not punish anyone for having political connections. "There is no prohibition on family members [of officials] of the department or elsewhere in government getting mineral rights," he said. The fact that former political leaders had received permits was a mere coincidence. We look at compliance when we issue licences," he said. "We don't look at who is there."
Environmentalists also question Zuma's decision to move Buyelwa Sonjica from minerals and energy to environment, seeing it as a sign that BEE coal-mining interests now trump environmental concerns. Rocha strongly denied this. He said activists sometimes became very "emotional" and did not consider all the facts. "We don't issue licences on emotion, we issue them on the basis of law," he said. "After having followed the process, it does not make a department official happy or sad. It is just a yes or a no, after the process was followed to the letter. "We all have children. No one in the department says 'to hell with the environment'," he said.
Rocha said the department received 622 prospecting applications last year, of which 62 were granted and 125 denied. The others are still being processed. He named an application by an unnamed mining house in amphibian haven Chrissiesmeer, also on the Mpumalanga escarpment, as an example of an application refused on environmental grounds. The applications show that many mining companies now have the Waterberg in their sights. The Waterberg coalfield, around Lephalale in Limpopo, has 50% of South Africa's remaining coal reserves and hosts South Africa's latest power station, Medupi.
The area is home to the Waterberg biosphere, Marakele National Park and many private reserves.
Only Exxaro's Grootgeluk colliery operates in the area. But Exxaro Resources chief executive Sipho Nkosi said the Waterberg has sufficient coal to feed eight power stations and the company could be mining there for the next 200 years. Several mining houses, including BEE company Sekoko Coal, are investigating the feasibility of an open-cast coal mine in the Lephalale area and several have applied to the government for prospecting licences. Companies seeking prospecting licences must submit environmental management plans, which involve consultation with the owners or lawful occupiers of the land in question. In many cases, however, landowners and interested parties dispute that there has been adequate consultation. The department must also submit applications to the water affairs and environmental affairs departments. In many sensitive cases these claim they did not see licence applications or, as in the case of Mapungubwe learned of them only at the last minute. The law provides that sister departments have 60 days in which to react to environmental management plans. "If there is no response, we take it that the department has nothing to say," said Rocha. "You can't blame us if someone in another department doesn't do their job."
Coal of Africa (CoAL), the driver of a controversial proposed mining venture near world heritage site Mapungubwe, has powerful allies. Its BEE partner is the Mvelaphanda group, headed by Tokyo Sexwale before he was appointed to Cabinet. Mvelaphanda owns a stake in CoAL through African Global Capital (AGC), which owns a 26% stake. But the connections do not end there. Former intelligence director general Vusi Mavimbela is the executive director of Mvelaphanda responsible for business strategy and African expansion. This week Mavimbela was tipped to become the director general in President Jacob Zuma's office.
CoAL's mining application has sparked a public outcry, with South African National Parks and even the former minister of environmental affairs, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, speaking out against the proposed mining. But CoAL's chief operating officer, Riaan van der Merwe, said the park and the mine could coexist. "We know there is a lot of emotion around coal mining, particularly considering the scars left by mines in the Witbank area," he said. "But mining methods have changed drastically." He said CoAL took its environmental responsibilities seriously and intended managing the mine in line with the vision of the proposed Transfrontier Conservancy Area. Among the measures planned at the mine were the use of strobe lighting when reversing trucks, rather than a warning beep. High-noise activities such as blasting will also be restricted to between 8am and 4pm. He said the mine was far enough from Mapungubwe not to disturb the park. All baobab trees uprooted as part of mining operations would be lifted and replanted.
CoAL has 74% ownership of the project, with the remaining 26% held by several BEE groups, according to Van der Merwe. He would not disclose their identity.
Environmental groups regard the Delta Mining Corporation's (DMC) exploration for torbanite and coal in the Wakkerstroom region as the gravest threat this environmentally sensitive area has faced. The groups, including World Wildlife Fund South Africa, the Botanical Society and Birdlife South Africa, have objected to the granting of prospecting rights in more than 20 000ha of pristine grassland and wetland. They and local farmers have joined forces against Delta in two high court applications for the prospecting rights to be revoked.
Central to their case is the weak environmental management plan, which the Mail & Guardian has seen. The report turns a blind eye to the pristine state of the area and to its biodiversity, including rare birds such as wattled cranes and other red data species.
Investigative programme 50/50 revealed that the sister of former minister of trade and industry (Mandisi Mpahlwa, who is Jacob Zuma's financial adviser), Mandlakazi Madaka, is the BEE partner in DMC's venture in Wakkerstroom. "We are aware of reports of who our BEE partners are, though we are not aware of any concerns, certainly we have none," said Delta chairperson Bernard Swanepoel. He said Delta Mining was a private company whose shares were mainly held by its chief executive and founder, Heine van Niekerk. An investment company in which Swanepoel is a director, To The Point Growth Specialists, owns 30% and the rest is held by the management team, he said. Swanepoel denied allegations that the environmental management plan used to secure prospecting rights in Wakkerstroom was fatally flawed. "We outsourced two scoping studies to two separate independent competent persons," he said. "We are confident that the process we ran was thorough and professional. Although some areas were identified as sensitive, none were identified as irreplaceable and our exploration process will ensure that sensitive areas are left undisturbed," he said. Swanepoel said the DMC property is not adjacent to or in the wetlands. "Our property is about 20km away and about 200m lower than (or downstream of) the wetlands in the area," he said. "About two-thirds of our prospecting area is old or current mealie fields. Consequently our property and the land we plan to explore will allow for coal extraction that should in no way affect the wetlands."
Source: Mail & Guardian
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