Last week brought another challenge to Tendele Mining (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of Petmin, with an appeal being lodged against its water use licence issued by the Acting Director-General of the Department of Water and Sanitation.
The appeal was lodged by ALL RISE Attorneys for Climate and Environmental Justice on behalf of the Mfolozi Environmental Community Justice Organisation, MCEJO and the Global Environmental Trust.
Both these organisations are applicants with MACUA, SAHRDN and ActionAid SA in a court application challenging the validity of Tendele’s mining right granted in 2016 which allows the mine to significantly expand its operations into new areas. The matter is being heard virtually this week on the 10th to 12th of November by the Pretoria High Court.
Asked why the water use licence is being challenged, Janice Tooley, attorney and director at ALL RISE said that it was for multiple reasons which are set out in detail in the appeal. One of the main reasons is that Tendele and its consultants GCS had failed to consult with the very people who will adversely be affected from mining operations and the associated 142 water uses that have been approved, including the permanent destruction of streams and wetlands and possible pollution of surface and groundwater.
Many of the local residents in these rural communities are subsistence farmers, and without an adequate supply of clean water, they are unable to grow food and water their livestock. For years, many of their streams and boreholes have run dry and the rainwater they collect from the roofs of their houses has been contaminated by coal dust making it unfit for drinking, forcing people to have to buy water at great expense.
She said that it was wrong for the Department to have accepted Tendele’s water use licence application to start with because Tendele does not have the necessary landowner consent from the community, which is a legal requirement.
All Rise also obtained expert advice from an independent water expert, who reviewed the technical reports and found them to contain significant gaps, incorrect assumptions and insufficient mitigation measures to protect the water resources and downstream users.
Our government acting through the Minister of Water and Sanitation is the public trustee of our nation’s water resources and is responsible for ensuring that water is protected and used in an equitable and sustainable manner for the benefit of all persons. By issuing the water use licence to Tendele without proper procedure having been followed, and in the absence of comprehensive technical information, government has not upheld its constitutional mandate. Simply put, the water use licence should not have been issued.
Appeals against water use licences are currently heard by the Water Tribunal, an independent body specifically established to hear appeals against directives and decisions made by water authorities in terms of the National Water Act. This is not a quick process and in terms of the Act, Tendele’s water use licence is automatically suspended until the appeal has been decided, unless directed otherwise by the Minister.
Download links below:
NOTICE OF APPEAL IN TERMS OF SECTION 148(1) OF THE NATIONAL WATER ACT, 1998 (ACT NO.36 OF 1998)
