Should mining continue in Malolotsha game reserve; public hearings called

MBABANE: Public hearing, scheduled by the Eswatini Environmental Authority (EEA) may finally resolve the controversy whether a Chinese company should be allowed to open a mine that will destroy the sensitive Malolotsha National Park.

The EEA has appointed a 5-person Tribunal headed by a Principal Magistrate, David Khumalo to conduct hearings to gather public sentiments on the socio-economic, ecological and environmental harm caused by mining activity in the environmentally sensitive Malolotsha nature reserve.

People wishing to submit views at the hearing are required to pre-register.

EEA spokesperson Belusile Mhlanga said one day of hearings will scheduled to hear the views of communities, especially the Nkomazi Valley that is affected by the mine while the main hearing will be held in Mbabane.

Mhlanga said EEA sprang to action after more than 10 people, the minimum number required to trigger a hearing expressed concerns about the environmental destruction caused by blasting and soil excavation of a protected ecological area.

The first hearing is scheduled from 4 to 6 November 2024, at the Gobolondlo Hall in Pigg’s Peak, 5 kilometres north of the mine sorting site.

A further week of hearings is set from the 7th to 15th November at the Thokoza Church Centre.

Only people who have pre-registered will however be allowed to make submissions at the hearing. Mhlanga urged people to register by email at public.hearings@eea.org.sz or by WhatsApp on 78061658. She said people can also approach Tinkhundla centres for help with pre-registering so that they are assured of submitting their views.

Announcing the tribunal, the Chairman of the EEA Management Board, Mr. Mlungisi Simelane said the committee will undertake public hearings of concerns about the Green Chert Mining Project currently ongoing at Malolotsha. The tribunal is made of Mr. David Khumalo, Manzini Principal Magistrate; Ms Julian Nomsa Mlangeni, an environmentalist; Mr. Samson Maphanga, a geologist; Dr. Ntombenhle Dlamini, a science academic and Mr. Bhekisisa Sibandze, an engineer.

Mr. Simelane said the Tribunal will have 5 weeks to conduct public hearings and submit their report.

It is expected that the tribunal’s report will inform decisions on whether a company that has been granted a mining licence to extract green chert at Malolotsha should formally begin mining.

The Chinese company, Michael Lee Enterprises mines the cryptocrystalline quartz in a game reserve filled with protected animals, a sensitive ecological zone and protected space. Mining involves blasting rocks in the Mgwayiza Valley, deep in the nature reserve. A constant stream of trucks then rumble through the game reserve to a sorting site above the Nkomazi River bridge where green chert is then loaded into shipping containers and trucked to a railway dry port in Matsapha, enroute to the port of Maputo.

The mining operation has upset environmentalists and nature loving people internationally. The Malolotsha Game reserve is part of a system covering about 18 000 hectares of mountainous wilderness bordering Mpumalanga. It has been managed by the Eswatini National Trust Commission Eswatini (ENTC) since 1979 and attracts thousands of local and international visitors annually.

It is also a peace park, part of the Songimvelo-Malolotja and Greater Lubombo transfrontier conservation areas.

The mining is taking place in the depths of the Makhonjwa Mountains, part of the Barberton Greenstone Belt and designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site of Outstanding Universal Value in neighbouring South Africa. At around 3.5-billion years old, these are the oldest mountains on the planet. They offer insights into the formation of Earth’s crust, the growth of continents, and the evolution of early life.

Mgwayiza Valley is one of the most ecologically, archaeologically and geologically diverse parts of Malolotja and has been an important site of study for researchers for many decades.

Jm/today/23.10.2024