GRAAFF - REINET NEWS - For more than a decade hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as fracking, in the Karoo has been the subject of heated debate.

The development of South Africa's Gas Master Plan, which includes the amendment of the Gas Act of 2001 to provide for the promotion of orderly development of the gas industry and facilitate gas infrastructure development and investment, among other things, has placed the fracking controversy back on the agenda.

A diverse group of people from various towns within the Dr Beyers Naude municipal area recently participated in the public hearing on the Gas Amendment Bill B9-2021, which was conducted at the Alex Laing Hall in Graaff-Reinet. 

The group included religious- and traditional leaders, representatives from organised groups of small-scale farmers and informal settlement dwellers, women, youth and disabled. Civil society was represented by socio-environmental organisations - Support Centre for Land Change (SCLC), Karoo Environmental Justice Movement (KEJM), Green Connections and Greenpeace Africa - as well as the Robert Sobukwe Museum and Learning Centre.

At least three political parties - DA, EFF and PA - were also present.

The purpose of the public hearing was to get input from the community since the Dr Beyers Naude municipal area has been identified as one of the areas that may be affected by the enactment of this Bill.

At the public hearing, many rejected the Bill in its entirety based on issues related to the environment and climate. Joey Dearling, the representative of the Karoo Environmental Justice Movement (KEJM), stated that KEJM rejects the Bill based on environmental concerns relating to air- and water pollution, and it was made clear that water intense extractive activities, such as fracking, can never be justified in a region without adequate water resources to sustain the livelihoods of its communities.

Flip Pieterse, Chairperson of the Baviaans Land and Agrarian Reform Forum (BLARF) representing small-scale farmers in Willowmore, also raised water as a primary concern and stated that BLARF is not in support of the Bill based on the potential adverse impact that gas developments may have on the already struggling small-scale agricultural sector.

The Bill was also rejected, primarily based on environmental considerations, by Chief Daantjie Jaftha, Chief Margaret Coetzee, Chief Thomas Augustus and Chief Bruto Malgas who represented the Khoi.

Chief Daantjie Jaftha stated that the Bill is in contravention of Section 24 of the Constitution that provides for the right to a healthy environment and the right to have the environment protected from pollution and ecological degradation and based on this, the Bill is unconstitutional.

Roshida Elias, representative of the Women's Task Team for the Vrygronde informal settlement in Graaff-Reinet and member of the Universal Movement of Rastafari Royal Family, and Theresa Barnard, representative of the Women's Task Team for Willowmore and member of BLARF, and many others fear the impact that the destruction of the environment will have on future generations and appealed to the Portfolio Committee to consider the children when deliberating on the Bill.

Elias recognises unemployment as a major issue faced by communities but makes it clear that they do not support the Bill. "We rather say no to money than to accept money that is full of blood, and therefore we say NO to this Bill."

With regard to climate, the drought and extreme temperatures associated with climate change and global warming were raised as primary concerns.

Letoya Kock considers the fact that gas releases methane into the atmosphere as alarming. Methane has more than 80 times the warming capacity of carbon dioxide over the first 20 years after it reaches the atmosphere and is responsible for at least 25% of global warming. 

South Africa is warming at twice the average global rate and therefore methane reductions are crucial.

The fact that resource-poor communities are not resilient against the climate crisis was also raised by participants. These communities do not have the means to implement adaptation and mitigation strategies and are, therefore, particularly vulnerable.

DA councillors Ricardo Smith, Joy Williams and Francois de Villiers represented the Democratic Alliance (DA), and, in principle, the DA rejected the Bill based on several particular legislative considerations.

According to Samantha Graham-Maré, DA Member of Parliament, the primary concern is that the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, is given too much power to make determinations and, according to the DA, this opens the whole process up to corruption, nepotism, cadre deployment and the like. Many participants, both in favour of and against the Bill, raised the issue of power afforded to the Minster as a matter of concern.

Renewable energy as an alternative to fossil fuels was put forward by a number of participants.

Christo Williams from Promo Enterprises in Klipplaat believes that solar power is the answer to our energy crisis, particularly seen in the light of load-shedding and Eskom's increasing electricity tariffs. Investing in solar power plants will assist in getting the municipality of the Eskom grid and will open up opportunities to feed into the grid, thereby reducing the municipality's Eskom debt.

As opposed to those rejecting the Gas Amendment Bill, many people put forward the high unemployment rate and the prospects of economic development and employment opportunities in the gas industry as motivation for supporting the Bill. 

In this regard, it is concerning that the Member of Parliament who facilitated the preparatory workshop that preceded the public was unable to respond to questions relating to employment opportunities that may be emanating from gas developments in the Karoo. The preparatory meeting was conducted at the community hall in uMasizakhe.

According to Chief Daantjie Jaftha, the fact that communities do not have adequate information on the Bill is disabling. He believes that communities would have been in a better position to comment on the Bill if the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy invested time into engaging with communities and ensuring that they understand the content of the Bill. 

This concern, as well as a concern relating to the fact that communities were not properly notified of the hearings, was also raised at the preparatory meeting.

Another concern related to the fact that Parliament only made provision for 150 participants. In a municipality with an estimated population of about 80 000 people, this number is unacceptable, particularly based on the fact the Gas Amendment Bill may have far-reaching implications for communities that have been resisting shale gas exploration using hydraulic fracturing for the past ten years.

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