The Department of Water and Sanitation issues a water license without consulting with the community
Margaret Molomo
The community leaders of the Kopano formation committee had a feedback meeting at Ga Kgubudi village on the appeal that they sent to the minister of the Department of Water and Sanitation against the issuing of a water use license to Ivanplats mine.
The dispute comes after the site inspections that were conducted by government officials of The Department of Water Sanitation Limpopo Province. They failed to give us a report of the site inspections as they had already issued a water-use license to the mine. That led to us appealing against their water use license to the relevant minister. We also sent an email to the lawyer of the mine who refused to meet with us and other community leaders.
The biggest problem is that the mine wants to build a storage tailing dam and a stormwater drain that will take polluted water from the mine to the storage tailing dam in Turfspruit in Tshamahanzi village on top of a small mountain that is located right inside the villages. The other problem is that on the mountain we have a mass grave of 1968 where our brothers died during their initiation school. In our culture when a man dies at initiation school, we do not bury them at home.
The department has given them a water use license without the participation of the community and for that, we say they cannot build a stormwater drain that passes through the village. Again they cannot relocate a mass grave from the mountain. Our argument was submitted to the minister and he responded that he selected a team from his office that would come for a site inspection and a water tribunal court with the mine. Upon realizing that we were going to a water tribunal court with the mine the Ivanplat Mine lawyer sent an email requesting that we settle the matter without the team from the minister and we refused.
We believe that settling the matter in court will give us the security that we deserve and prevent the mine and all power holders from undermining poor communities. The matter will be heard in the Polokwane Tribunal Court from the 5th to the 7th of September 2024.
