Page 12 - AfrElec Week 11 2021

AfrElec NEWS IN BRIEF AfrElec

COAL Environmental Justice South32, which is headquartered in Perth,
“The problem with our system is that initiated new coal supply contract discussions
Local residents protest corporates are allowed to do as they please. with Eskom in terms of a hardship clause
in the WMC-Duvha agreement. South32
Mining companies violate the rights of
against Ikwezi Coal Mine;s the poor with impunity because they are has long said that the Duvha contract is
lossmaking and that exports from WMC
bigger than the law.” Robby Mokgalaka,
Kliprand colliery groundWork’s coal campaigner. cross-subsidise the portion of the mine’s
domestic production.
On 01 June, 2018, the Department of
Local communities in Newcastle South Mineral Resources suspended Ikwezi Mine’s The negotiation of the contract is especially
Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Province are license owing to its unlawful failure to comply important as South32 is in the final stages of
protesting against Australian-owned Ikwezi with the social and labour plan despite selling WMC, and its other South African
Coal Mine of refusing to take responsibility having had the mining rights for six years, mines, to Seriti Resources.
for the impacts from its mining operations. and how the mine transgressed the approved The upshot of the new coal supply
Residents in the communities of Kliprand environmental management programme by agreement is that Eskom will make
farm, Cloneen, Kàlvlakte, Jan Farm and tampering with graves.t preparations to supply Duvha with coal from
Dragan Farm are accusing the company, GROUNDWORK lower cost alternatives over time. As a result,
which operates the opencast coal mine, of the WMC supply contract will be extended
abusing and bullying the communities. four years to about 2024 but not to its fullest
The protestors say that public health is COAL extent which is contained in an option
being affected at Kliprand Farm by coal dust agreement to 2034.
caused by the mine and trucks, and that ESKOM to pursue with
blasting at the mine is damaging houses.
They also say that the company is secretive South32 coal supply talks
and unhelpful, claiming that the project’s CORRUPTION
Social Labour Plan (SLP) is not a public ESKOM is to submit a new proposal for the
document and does not serve the needs of supply of coal from South32’s Wolvekrans AfDB sanctions Mitsubishi
local people. Middelburg Complex (WMC) mine in
They also claim that all labour is Mpumalanga province to its Duvha power Heavy Industries for Ltd. for
outsourced, that local livestock is dying station, Eskom CEO André de Ruyter said,
in numbers because they are grazing BusinessLive reported. A previous proposal sanctionable practice
grass covered with coal dust and that was rejected by South Africa’s National
mine management refuses to engage with Treasury. The treasury vets all major The African Development Bank (AfDB) has
community members. expenditure undertaken by Eskom as a issued a sanction decision against Mitsubishi
The current protest follows similar events safeguard after a period of overspend by the Heavy Industries for misrepresentation during
in December, when the community handed utility which has contributed to more than a tender to build a power plant in Egypt.
over a memorandum to mine management. ZAR450bn in crippling debt. This matter arises in the context of the Abu
All the issues raised in that protest are yet “The application that we made to National Qir 1300 MW Steam Power Project in Egypt.
to be resolved and there has not been any Treasury didn’t receive a positive response. On 15 January 2008, the Bank entered into
engagement with the community. It has therefore become moot,” said De a loan agreement with the Arab Republic of
“Enough is enough, we’re not going back Ruyter. “We are however preparing another Egypt to finance part of the Project which had
to the regime where mines exploited our application to National Treasury for an a broad objective of improving the electricity
resources, destroyed our land and left us extension of the contract period by further supply in Egypt. MHI, as part of a consortium,
dumps, contaminated water and sick people. four years with an increase in the contract submitted a bid and was awarded the contract.
Ikwezi mine must take responsibility for their price. The African Development Bank considers
harm on our well-being and the environment.” “This is a significantly smaller application,” there is sufficient evidence to support a
Themba Khumalo, Secretary of Sukumani he said. finding that it is more likely than not that
MHI engaged in sanctionable practices
(misrepresentation) in the context of Abu Qir
tender and contract implementation.
In consideration of the above and in the
absence of any aggravating factor, AfDB
decided to issue a Letter of Reprimand
against MHI in line with Section 11.2 (a)
of the Sanctions Procedures of the African
Development Bank Group.
The Office of Integrity and Anti-
Corruption of the African Development Bank
Group is responsible for preventing, deterring
and investigating allegations of corruption,
fraud and other sanctionable practices in
Bank Group-financed operations.
AFDB

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