Horrified at South Africa's lifting of a ban on shale gas drilling, a Grahamstown environmental activist has urged members of the public to support organised opposition to fracking.
Horrified at South Africa's lifting of a ban on shale gas drilling, a Grahamstown environmental activist has urged members of the public to support organised opposition to fracking.
This is in strong contrast to the reaction of the ruling party in the province, which has welcomed the move but warned that companies bidding for shale gas licences must invest in social responsibility programmes in the job-scarce Karoo.
Shell announced on Friday that Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane had announced Cabinet's endorsement of a recommendation for the lifting of the moratorium on shale gas exploration in SA. “Shell welcomes this decision," said Bonang Mohale, Shell South Africa Chairman.
"The Karoo Basin offers a potential exploration opportunity for shale gas, which we believe will be instrumental in meeting South Africa’s growing energy demand, while creating sustainable and permanent jobs for South Africans.”
Many debates about fracking (hydraulic fracturing) centre around concerns about the safety of the process. In fracking, large amounts of water are mixed with sand and chemicals to crack underground rock and release shale gas. Those against fracking fear ground water will be contaminated. I am horrified that the moratorium has been lifted, considering how brief and uncomprehensive the so-called 'study' was, said Nikki Kohly, chairperson of the Kowie Catchment Campaign and a contributor to Grocott's Mail's Environews biweekly column.
Currently in Germany, she sent Grocott's Mail an emailed response to the announcement, emphasising that she was commenting in her personal capacity. I think it is naive to believe that the study has shown that it is 'safe' to explore for shale gas, Kohly said.
There is no scientific consensus or real proof that fracking is a 'responsible and sustainable answer to energy, climate and employment challenges in SA' – [the desired goal advocated by the Treasure the Karoo Action Group in its mission statement].
"I reckon this is all about money," Kohly wrote on Sunday, and those who will benefit are the fracking multinationals (Shell, Falcon Oil Gas and Anglo American), not the people of South Africa.
In their press release on Friday, Shell wrote that they were investing significant resources globally in developing natural gas as a cleaner energy source to help meet surging energy demand.
To this Kohly responded: "Perhaps Shell et al aren´t investing in renewable energy technology research and development because it will take a bit longer to reap financial profits? But this is short-term thinking. Fracking for gas is certainly not a sustainable energy solution – gas reserves are just another form of fossil fuel."
A range of activist groups have weighed in on the announcement, with minority rights group Afriforum warning of catastrophic results. South Africa is a water scarce country. It is clear from across the world that fracking destroys ecosystems and especially pollutes water, Julius Kleynhans, AfriForum’s head of environmental affairs, wrote in a press statement yesterday.
This decision may have catastrophic results in the future. According to their statement, AfriForum, which is aligned to trade union Solidarity, will take action against the decision through an anti-fracking campaign. Business Day reported yesterday that the Treasure the Karoo Action Group, which has consistently opposed Shell's fracking plans in the Karoo, was not surprised at the lifting of the moratorium on fracking and vowed to take its fight to court if necessary.
Treasure the Karoo’s national coordinator, Jonathan Deal, quoted in the Business Day online report, said it was illogical of the Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu to on one hand promise consultation with the people of the Karoo, and on the other to lift the moratorium.
"Government has ignored the fact that fracking technology is banned in more than 155 jurisdictions around the world, where tens of millions of people live who have chosen to forego the so-called economic benefits of fracking in favour of the environment where they raise their children, grow their crops and abstract their drinking water," Deal was quoted saying.
Deal said the group had spent a year preparing scientific and legal documents to appeal against the granting to Shell of any licence for exploration rights. In the same article, Business Day reported that the Southern Cape Land Committee, a George-based action group that fights for the rights of the landless, had called for a boycott of all Shell products.
The group's chairperson Angela Conway said her group would boycott Shell and called on other concerned South Africans to do the same.
Meanwhile the ANC in the Eastern Cape has welcomed Cabinet's decision. "While we understand the concerns raised by a number of pressure groups and concerned stakeholders about exploration of this gas, we call on all groups, especially local communities in the Karoo to participate in the consultation forums to be led by the Mineral Resources Minister," said the party's Eastern Cape Provincial Secretary Lubabalo Mabuyane in a press release yesterday.
Mabuyane said: "The nature of social investment we want is not a couple of thousand rands, we are talking about ownership, a handsome stake, we are talking about involving our people in the operations, management and leadership of this project…"
"This shale gas is a natural resource of the Karoo and benefits for this must be visible. This must create these opportunities as well as business opportunities for black owned small businesses in the area and in other parts of the Eastern Cape," Mabuyane said.
Kohly warned in her email on Sunday: At the end of it all, these companies will just move on elsewhere, leaving us with a scarred landscape and more than likely a whole lot of permanent damage to the fragile Karoo ecosystem and groundwater supplies. "I would strongly encourage everyone to support Treasure Karoo Action Group – they have formed a broad alliance with like-minded opposition groups to fight this at a legal level." Go to http://www.treasurethekaroo.co.za/get-involved.
