Zululand communities oppose off-shore drilling
After meeting with the communities and collating their concerns, the comments have been responded to in Zulu and are available for viewing on the project website
DURING the draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) comment period for Eni and Sasol Africa’s proposed drilling off the coast of Richards Bay, Zululand communities raised a number of concerns, including the fact that all documentation was in English.
After meeting with the communities and collating their concerns, the comments have been responded to in Zulu and are available for viewing on the project website.
The general concerns of the communities are that they would not benefit from the project, that it would disrupt their lives, that the sea and fish life would become polluted, thereby vastly reducing food availability.
They said they had not been made aware of the project by those involved, but had been informed by non-government organisations.
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‘We do not need this project, it has come to disrupt our lives and our culture. We will lose our jobs and have food shortages,’ said a spokesman Allois Mbambo.
‘This project seems to be designed for rich people because it will not provide job opportunities.
‘We do not have people who are skilled or educated for this kind of technology.’
In response, Environmental Resource Management (ERM) said, ‘Given the project’s focus on exploration only at this stage and the subsequent limited time frame, there will be limited employment opportunities.
‘This outlook would be substantially different if a commercial discovery was made, whereby infrastructure would need to be developed to support production activities.
‘Such employment opportunities can be provided with appropriate training and are not limited to technical positions.’
ERM also said the social benefits would be negligible during exploration drilling, but, should exploration bring success, there would be long-term benefits for South Africa, including having access to new energy sources and reduced dependence on importing hydrocarbons.
The full comments and responses report can be viewed online at www.erm.com/eni-exploration-eia.
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