Page 10 - 10 October 2025

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PAGE 10 THE REPORTER 10 OCTOBER 2025
semester studying theology. wheel, heart thudding, mind of a finger from a steering Barkly boy with a healthy
full of shadows. wheel. In the tip of a hat to a respect for manners,
We both fancied ourselves a
bit worldlier, so when he We felt like we were hurtling p a s s i n g l a d y . A n d m i s c h i e f , a n d a n y
produced a matchbox con- through space at a blistering sometimes, even in a half- m a t c h b o x t h a t i s n ' t
taining what he described, 135 miles per hour, in reality, baked puff of funny tobacco suspiciously aromatic. He
quite reverently, as "funny we were probably doing on a quiet road to nowhere. now spends his time
tobacco," the plan was born. about 35. Barkly. You've got to love it. retelling tales from a past
We were going to try one of Just as we reached the By Logan Lamont that gets more entertaining
those cigarettes. You know, turnoff toward Aliwal North with each retelling - and
the kind whispered about in and the farm, just past Oom Logan Lamont is a reformed only slightly less accurate.
record shops and behind the Norman Kriel's farm, there
bicycle shed. they were. The green police
Manners, Mirth and a We needed somewhere van, parked just off the road, NOTICE OF
Matchbox of Mischief private, and so we headed two local constables inside, AMENDMENT OF AN
out to the "slagpale", the giving us that slow,
abattoirs just outside Barkly, suspicious look.
If there was ever a town that believed in good on the road to Elliot, before ENVIRONMENTAL
manners and clean living, it was Barkly East. It the turnoff to Oom Herbert And what does the Reverend
do? Does he duck? Slide
wasn't just a place, it was a way of life. "Manners van Zyl's place. Also known, down? Disappear into the MANAGEMENT
maketh man" wasn't printed on a classroom wall; it more romantically, as the floorboards? No. He raises
turnoff to Lovers Lane. Oom PROGRAMME
was practically the town motto. his hand and waves at them,
Paul Parsons, our local just like that. Calm as a
Growing up there, we kids p a s s i n g c a r w a s butcher, sourced his stock cucumber. Notice is hereby given in terms of Section 39(6)(a) of
weren't just raised by our acknowledged with a subtle there. It was remote, quiet, I was convinced it was a the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development
parents. We were raised by wave or that legendary flick and just far enough out of Act, 2002 (Act No 28 of 2002) (MPRDA), read with the
the whole town. Every adult of the forefinger off the town to feel dangerous. signal. "Officer, the driver National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act
had a say, a look, or at the steering wheel. It was Rolling the thing took us the just inhaled something 107 of 1998) (NEMA) and the Environmental Impact
very least, an eyebrow that Barkly's silent code of civility. best part of an hour. I'm not illegal. Arrest him." That's Assessment Regulations 2014 (as amended) that
how it felt. Paranoia was now
could straighten your spine. To ignore it? Well, that was a sure what we thought we Aliwal Dolerite Quarry (Pty) Ltd is in the process of
And every one of them was social offence somewhere were doing, it looked like fully in control of the steering applying to the Minister for an amendment to its
an "Oom" or "Tannie," between kicking a dog and something cobbled together wheel. I stiffened, tried approved Environmental Management Programme
r e g a r d l e s s o f f a m i l y refusing biltong. in woodwork class and acting naturally, and sped up (EMPr) for its mining operations.
connection. Elders were Life, however, eventually barely held itself upright. But to a wildly rebellious 40 mph. Aliwal Dolerite Quarry (Pty) Ltd holds a mining right
respected, children were pulled us all in different when it was done, Reverend I dropped him at the farm, for the extraction of dolerite over a total area of
expected to know their directions. Some mates Rasta handed it to me with didn't even greet his parents, 62.299 ha that extends across Erf No 2928 (a portion
place, and speaking over an went off to university, others the same solemnity he my unofficial second family. of Erf 1) and a portion of Portion 5 of the farm Melk
adult was about as risky as like me into military service. probably used in Sunday Just turned the car around Spruit No 12, within the Walter Sisulu Local
poking a lion with a stick. chapel and said, "Break it." and headed home via
After finishing my national Municipality of the Eastern Cape.
The men of Barkly were service, I came home "Break it?" Moshesh's Ford to avoid the An environmental performance audit conducted in
proper gentlemen of the thinking I'd seen a bit of the police, and perhaps my 2025 concluded that the 2011 EMPr is not aligned
veld, always ready with a hat world. I wasn't the same I blinked. I swallowed. guilty conscience. with the requirements of Appendix 4 of the EIA
tip for the ladies. If they were wide-eyed Barkly boy. And I asked, horrified. "We've just And yes, just so there's no Regulations, 2014 (as amended). Various
driving and spotted a woman my friend - I'll call him made it!" confusion, I did inhale. I operational changes and improvements have since
on the roadside, they'd put Reverend Rasta, for reasons Apparently, that was code for won't tell a porky. I tried it. I occurred at Aliwal Quarry, and the need has arisen to
on their hat just so they that will soon become clear, "light it." So I did. inhaled. Clinton, eat your amend the EMPr to reflect current site conditions,
could take it off again. Every had just wrapped up a heart out. improve impact management, and ensure regulatory
It buzzed, it crackled, it
smoked, and I went a bit In the end, no blue lights, no compliance. The Quarry would also like to
squint. We got the giggles. newspaper headlines, no consolidate the 2011 EMPR and 2018 EMPR, that
Yes, we inhaled. And yes, it scandal, just two slightly was approved as part of a Section 102 amendment
worked. dazed okes in the veld, application.
thinking they were Cheech
I'll never know why I was the and Chong, but looking The Draft Amended Environmental Management
designated driver that day. more like Donkey and Shrek. Programme will be available for public review and
Maybe because I had a car. comment from 10 October 2025 to 11 November
Reverend Rasta must've We might have gone our 2025. Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs) are
hitchhiked into town from separate ways after school, invited to register and/or submit written comments
his folks' farm on the New army camps, theology during this period.
England road, which sat on lectures, jobs in the big wide The EMPr can be:
the opposite side of Barkly. world, but Barkly never really • Downloaded from:
So we set off, me at the left us. Even when we were https://www.greenmined.com/environmental-
up to no good, you could still
hear its voice: "Nee jong, management-programme-amendments/;
what would Oom Paul say?" • Requested from:
Greenmined Environmental (Pty) Ltd
Because no matter how far
you travelled, in miles or Email: comments@greenmined.co.za
mind, Barkly had a way of Tel: 021 851 2673
staying with you. In the flick Please use reference number EC 30/5/1/2/2/0215
MR in all correspondence.
In terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act,
"We begin to find 2013 (Act No. 4 of 2013) (“POPIA”), by participating in
and become this process and submitting your details, you consent
to the lawful processing of your personal information
ourselves when we
by Greenmined Environmental for purposes related
notice how we are to this EMPr amendment application.
already found, Environmental Consultant & Contact
Koffie en Tee already truly, Person:
Pannekoek . . . . . . . . . . R7
Boereworsrolle . . . . . . R30 Koek entirely, wildly, Greenmined Environmental (Pty) Ltd
Sosaties . . . . . . . . . . . R30 Kindertafel messily, Christine Fouché
Postnet Suite 62
Kerrie en rys . . . . . . . . R30 Allerlei tafels marvelously who we Private Bag X15
Poedings . . . . . . . . . . R30 Kom en geniet! were born to be." Somerset West, 7129
— Anne Lamott Tel: 021 851 2673
Cell: 082 811 8514
E-mail: Christine.f@greenmined.co.za

Applicant:
Navrae: Contact: Aliwal Dolerite Quarry (Pty) Ltd
Rana . . . . . . 078 222 3463 Edmund Vorster
Lorita . . . . . 082 586 3197 P.O. Box 314
Maletswai
9750
Tel: 051 633 3346
Email: Edmund.v@raumix.co.za