The CEO of the Musina Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ), Lehlogonolo Masoga, has welcomed the decision by Limpopo economic development, environment and tourism MEC Thabo Mokone to dismiss appeals against the granting of the environmental authorisation for the economic zone.
Speaking to Sunday World this week, Masoga said the R257-billion MMSEZ had for far too long bent backward to afford interested and affected parties time to register their legitimate concerns against the economic zone’s application, a process that unfortunately had degenerated into mismanagement.
“Some individuals and organisations elected to become the champions and advocates for the perpetuation of poverty and unemployment among the voiceless poor of the Vhembe district and Limpopo in general.
“They did this by unnecessarily delaying this project, which carries the hopes of many to liberate themselves from the shackles of the twin devils of poverty and unemployment.
“They chose their egos over our people,” he said.
He said the application process for the commercial zone started in 2018 with a detailed environmental screening study, which was followed by a scoping report in 2019.
“The scoping report identified a myriad of specialist studies to be conducted. We are pleased that in our endeavour to comply with the law, protect the environment and positively respond to the concerns raised by the public, we commissioned even more studies and conducted
additional public participation beyond the scope prescribed by the competent authority.
“We wish to reconfirm that the MMSEZ has indeed abandoned its coal-fired power plant project and substituted it with a solar energy (1 000MW) project,” Masoga said.
MMSEZ last week announced its partnership with an Australian company to explore hydrogen energy generation as part of its energy mix strategy.
“Among such potential sources we openly declared the exploration of an off-channel storage dam (Musina Dam) through harvesting the frequent run-off flood water from the Limpopo River, and cross-border water transfer schemes from the south of the Limpopo River, for the benefit of the MMSEZ and communities across the Vhembe district,” Masoga said.
The potential impact of the Musina Makhado project on the climate has made it a target for South Africa’s anti-coal power campaign, which has gained momentum in recent years.
Critics of the project have said it will burden South Africa with a climate debt because of its reliance on fossil fuel energy that will increase the country’s carbon emissions.
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