Concerned Citizens of Lephalale and the Women of Change from Marapong raised their voices and their hand to be counted and to be heard. Lephalale/Steenbokpan crossing
“At last, hopefully not too little too late, Eskom no longer has a licence to pollute!” This was the sentiment from the Concerned Citizens of Lephalale who, for years now, have been calling on the government to make Eskom comply with South Africa’s air quality regulations. “We are very happy to hear that the National Air Quality Officer has denied Eskom’s application to be allowed to pollute more than is legally permitted, especially when it comes to sulphur dioxide (SO2), which is known to harm the respiratory system.”
Yesterday (14 December), the government refused Eskom’s applications to postpone the implementation of its air-quality compliance for its high polluting operations, such as the Medupi and Matimba coal-fired power stations.
Chairperson of the Concerned Citizens of Lephalale Elana Greyling says, “For several years, we have been opposing Eskom’s ongoing applications for exemptions. As the people that must breathe these extra pollutants, we feel that these exemptions nullify the law. Why would South Africa have a law limiting air pollution, when Eskom is allowed to just pollute as they please, despite these laws? Furthermore, Eskom had cancelled its plans for the flue-gas desulfurisation (FGD) technology, a condition set by the World Bank, to reduce pollution. They are not installing this technology. Instead, they have started the whole lengthy process all over, they say, to first find the correct technology and then follow all the required processes.”
Living next to two of Eskom’s top killer power stations, Medupi and Matimba, has caused lots of grief and pain for local communities, because of emissions. According to a report released by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) in 2017, Medupi alone is responsible for no less than 364 deaths per year. Further health impacts to surrounding communities includes 453 cases of chronic bronchitis, 1552 cases of bronchitis in children ages 6-19, and well over 15 thousand asthma-symptom days, in children. And just down the road, the Matimba power station is responsible for nearly 300 deaths per year.
“In the meantime, the people of Lephalale must continue to breathE this polluted air, paying a very high price for Eskom’s law-breaking. We pay with our air, our water, our health, our safety, our lives, and our future. Coal robs us of our basic human rights and the price we are expected to pay is getting to be too high. As far as we are concerned, if this government insists that the country continues to rely on coal, then there should be no compromises when it comes to protecting our communities and environment from the negative impacts. We have a right to clean air, water and jobs that are not harmful to our health and our lives. We suffer every day from the ash and pollution from Medupi, Matimba and Grootegeluk that blows,” says Greyling.
“With the reality of climate change, which will kill our way of life in Lephalale and this beautiful Bushveld, the time has come for a just transition to renewable energy. We cannot put this off any longer. Things would be much better if we had to move to cleaner, more socially inclusive energy sources. I know our communities would be a lot happier.
During a picket on the Global Day of Human Rights on Friday, CCL and Women of Change illustrated how coal affects human rights. In the past, Eskom had claimed that Waterberg coal is high in SO2 and that they therefore need a ‘get-out-of-jail-free-card’. Yet, they knew very well what the structure of the coal was and what the law said, if not for Matimba, then for Medupi. But still, they do not comply.
A spokesperson from Eskom’s Medupi Power station visited the picket to find out why these women and men protest against coal. He did not want to be quoted on record, but according to Greyling, at least they were well informed.
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