Oil and gas fracking
Makhotla Sefuli
Nkane Mpembe
Nketoana local Municipality Lindley
Thabo Mofutsanyane district Municipality
Free State Province
25th May 2022
#oilandgasfracking
Agriculture is and will always be the backbone of the Eastern Free State economy. This sector main source of employment for majority of households in this district for those who are working outside government and the formal sector.
In 2019 a new initiative of oil and gas fracking was granted to the company called Rhino oil. The said company is alleged to acquired the prospecting and fracking rights for the gas in farms around the Thabo Mofutsanyane district that shares a border with KwaZulu-Natal. Both provinces are going to be highly affected by the devastating consequences should Rhino oil proceed with their plan to expropriate oil and gas in the Free State.
The commercial farming sector is the one that will suffer the most devastating consequences because the underground water that is the most vital commodity will be the first to be contaminated and thus making farming to be futile as the soil will be sterile and will take years to rehabilitate and be fertile again.
The communities in towns and local municipalities around those farms were enticed with lucrative job opportunities and big profits for those who will agree to fracking taking place on their properties. Some of the local farmers have already entered into bilateral and verbal agreements with those multi national companies and some are not interested as they too live off the land and their employees will be without employment.
This matter has communities divided between those who employment opportunities and mainly young people. The other group is those who are looking at the bigger picture about the sustainability of the project and the legacy it is going to leave behind when the oil and gas gets depleted
The politicians seem to be in cahoots with the multinational companies without giving any consideration to the community
One local farmer by the name of Mr Gavin van Heerden disclosed that he has already met with people who claimed that they were from the North West province and they are interested in the gas deposits that traverse through his farm. Their claim is that the government granted them prospecting rights to start drilling on his farm.
The irony is that he was never been any proper or formal consultation between him and all parties involved.
He agreed to have drilling take place on his farm but only on condition that they entered into a partnership with him because he’s the one who is holding the title deed to the property.
That seems to have been a deterant because he has never seen or heard from those people again and that was in 2019.
Our view as the community is that the government jointly with the multinational companies is acting in direct violation of the people’s mining charter because there has never been any interaction with the communities that are going to be affected by this project.
Our appeal is that organizations that identify with our struggles as communities that are going to be affected by should avail more resources because education and awareness are key and vital elements that can empower communities to know better about the dangers of fracking and its devastating impact on the livelihood of those who live off the land.
