Kategori: Analysis

PAIA Day: Transparency's a Beautiful Thing

7/1/2017

Documents. Beautiful, public documents.

Eita,
For the first half of 2017, Thursday mornings were for sitting in the office with a cup of freeze-dried, instant coffee. Its taste might've been lacking, but it got the job done. #PAIAday, as I called this weekly ritual, was my method for prying as much formerly secret information as possible from the country's Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) into the public domain. Between sips of coffee, I would call/email/pester every provincial DMR office on my list for the week. I wanted their documents.

I had my eyes on two main targets: closure certificates and financial provisions for rehabilitation. The latter are the funds set aside by a company in order to get a mining license and begin mining. Similar to a security deposit on an apartment (or "flat" for my British English-speaking fans), these funds cannot actually be used to clean up a site, but they are returned once the mine is closed and earns a closure certificate (this clear failure of the law will likely be amended soon). A closure certificate is a document for which a company applies to the DMR once a site is closed and rehabilitated. It is the key to getting that money back.

My tool for getting these documents was the Promotion of Access to Information Act, or PAIA (essentially the same thing as America's FOIA). In August 2015, I submitted seven PAIA requests to the DMR with assistance from Ms. Mariette Liefferink of the Federation for a Sustainable Environment. Although I later found out that some of my most important requests were granted by December 2015, when I returned to South Africa in late 2016, I was still without the vast majority of these documents.

That's when I decided to launch #PAIAday on the first working day of 2017. This exercise continued for six months. At the end of the process, I have unlocked an unprecedented (in this field, at least) haul of information. Eight of the nine provinces gave me the majority of their information, which I am making 100 percent public at the end of this post.

Johan Vos stands on the unremediated remains of a Golfview coal mine that scars his farm.

I published this information in a number of stories. In some, I analyzed the data and looked for province-wide or national patterns. In others, I used the data to investigate specific mines.

For example, the above and below photos come from abandoned operations formerly mined by Golfview Mining (Pty) Ltd that was part of Anker Coal and Mineral Holdings South Africa (Pty) Ltd that was part of the Netherlands-based Anker group. With a combination of these documents and others I accessed through well-placed sources, I discovered that in 2015 the mine sites had R622 million (+/- $47.6 million) in total liability, including R29 million (+/- $2.2 million) in environmental liability. An analysis of Mpumalanga's financial provision register revealed that related companies had 10 financial provisions for operations in the province with a grand total of no money in them.

This same exercise is possible (and waiting for you!) on numerous other companies and methods of mining around the country.

In a moment I'll get to where I compiled all the data, but you can also find much of this data in searchable/printable/downloadable Excel spreadsheets I built and published in a series of stories -- here, here and here -- with the Oxpeckers Center for Investigative Environmental Journalism.

And finally, one last thing before the explanation of how to access the data....I've compiled a list of who all the current DMR PAIA officers are (that I know of), so you, too, can submit requests (if they are not the PAIA officer, I have explained their position):

national office
Mr. Diphoko Modiselle
diphoko.modiselle@dmr.gov.za
+27 (0)12 444 3284
+27 (0)82 821 1198

Mr. Pieter Alberts (Modiselle's boss and the DMR's head of legal)
pieter.alberts@dmr.gov.za
+27 (0)12 444 3288

www.dmr.gov.za/contact-us.html
This link will take you to the DMR's contact page where you can find phone numbers for each office.

Gauteng
Ms. Rachel Mkhari
rachel.Mkhari@dmr.gov.za

Mr. Jimmy Sekgale (in charge of compiling certain financial records)
jimmy.sekgale@dmr.gov.za
+27 (0)11 358 9700/9773

Free State
Ms. Mathapelo Mofikadi
mathapelo.mofikadi@dmr.gov.za
+27 (0)57 391 1389

Mpumalanga
Mr. Siyabonga Panduva
siyabonga.panduva@dmr.gov.za

Ms. Puja Singh (Panduva's boss)
puja.singh@dmr.gov.za

Ms. Onicca Mahlangu (in charge of compiling financial records)
onicca.mahlangu@dmr.gov.za

Limpopo
Mr. Robert Munyadziwa
robert.munyadziwa@dmr.gov.za
+27 (0)15 287 4738

North West
Mr. Abel Mandlazi
abel.mandlazi@dmr.gov.za
+27 (0)18 487 4302

Western Cape
Mr. Mervin Petro
mervin.petro@dmr.gov.za
+27 (0)21 427 1039

Eastern Cape & KwaZulu-Natal
Unclear. Call their offices or Modiselle.

Northern Cape (split between two regional offices)
Kimberley office
Mr. Luzuko Nxantsiya
luzuko.nxantsiya@dmr.gov.za

Springbok office
Mr. Jasper Nieuwoudt (regional manager)
jasper.nieuwoudt@dmr.gov.za
+27 (0)82 461 7226

Ms. Linda Njemla <Linda.Njemla@dmr.gov.za>,
Ms. Deidre Karsten <Deidre.Karsten@dmr.gov.za>,
Ms. Joleen Engelbrecht <Joleen.Engelbrecht@dmr.gov.za>
*Positions for these three are unclear, but they are involved.

Coal that was illegally dug by small-scale miners at an abandoned Golfview operation in Mpumalanga.

Now the fun part....

My work in South Africa is over for now, so I am making all this information 100 percent, absolutely, totally public. Below, you will find a link to a Dropbox folder that contains everything I got from the DMR. You are more than welcome to share it. You don't need a Dropbox account to access the data. Simply click the link or copy and paste the URL into your browser. The Word document entitled _South Africa mine closure data explains everything that is in the folder. If anything remains unclear, I am available to explain the data further. That's it. Let's get to work.

www.dropbox.com/sh/jiumw7nhocsplhj/AAA9ua8rqpVkc7rlD8hUpsxKa?dl=0

Sharp sharp,
Mark

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The void, dust, gold and powering the Rainbow Nation: An online photography exhibit

5/11/2017

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THE VOID, DUST, GOLD AND POWERING THE RAINBOW NATION is an online photography exhibit of my work, a project that was to be supported by Wits University but died in academia's relentless bureaucracy. Instead of letting my work die with it, I am trying something new....

This exhibit was born from my journalistic view of South African mining and studied through the literal lens of my camera. The evolution of my reporting led me to attempt a more nuanced view of the interconnected activities and consequences of minerals extraction, the primary intention of this experiment.

I question: What are the common experiences placed upon South Africa and its inhabitants by resource extraction? This question leads to other threads: the direct impacts of mining on local communities and environments, the responsibility of companies and government, the impact of race on power within the mining industry, the influence of international markets on far-removed communities and the part played by the rest of the country.

Many of these relationships become so powerful because of their juxtaposition. Instead of forcing these juxtapositions in individual frames, though, I am highlighting relationships through the physical (well, electronic at least) space of the exhibit. Note the individual clusters of (low resolution) frames to come. Each will come with a main photograph and with the surrounding shots (in different physical and theoretical manners) relating back to it.

As South Africa aspires to join the First World, the nation struggles with a history that includes colonialism, migrant labor and apartheid. This Rainbow Nation -- with its heartbeat in a city named for one of the very resources that built it -- cannot simply untangle itself from this complicated past and the industry that reinforced its prejudices. Instead, I hope this exhibit might add one more data point to the discussion surrounding remediation of the mining industry's fallout...

Remnants: Gold mine waste is strewn across the West Rand

Forced Coexistence: An unrehabilitated gold mine scars Johannesburg

Amadiba

Complex Power Complex: Sasol's Secunda coal and chemicals refinery operates in Mpumalanga

Legality: An informal settlement housing zama zamas on the Blyvooruitzicht Gold Mine

Alternative Mining Indaba protester

After Tears: A shaft rises from the ruins of a former gold mine

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South Africa's Traditional Authorities

5/5/2017

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Platinum mining in the North West.

Eita,
The tendrils of apartheid cruelly cling to life, having scratched their way into South Africa's psyche. The evidence -- especially with my work focusing on mining -- permeates everyday life.

I recently examined one aspect of this situation: communal land rights. Legislation passed in the lead-up to apartheid and continually refined during that time created 10 "bantustans" or "homelands" that accounted for 13 percent of the country's land. The racist social architects governing this period of the country's history selected this 13 percent because it was far from city centers and was, at the time, of little to no economic importance. During apartheid, these areas were encouraged to become "independent," a method of removing any responsibility from the government. The rest of the world, however, saw through the facade and did not recognize "bantustans" as countries.

While some of these areas loosely coincide with actual tribes -- i.e. the amaPondo people lived in the eastern part of the country prior to these areas being demarcated, as did the Zulu people -- arbitrary boundaries were placed on top of them. In the spirit of this falsely proclaimed self-governance, the government installed pawns as leaders in many of these areas. Since the advent of democracy, though, the democratically elected government catastrophically failed to return rights to people on communal land. Instead, laws passed by the African National Congress ("the party of Mandela") entrenched the boundaries of "bantustans" and allowed the traditional authorities of these areas -- many of whom had their lineage installed during apartheid -- to remain in positions of power. While reviews are ongoing to determine rightful leaders and family lines, they are woefully behind schedule and in some cases are essentially censored by officials.

Now, in a manner nearly identical to the U.S. forcing the relocation of American Indians to barren reservations and later finding gold and oil, companies operating in South Africa are trying to mine on land inhabited by people who were already once forcibly relocated.

Homes along the coast in Amadiba, Eastern Cape.

Companies from -- or with executives from and other strong ties to -- countries including Australia, Canada and the U.S. identify areas of communal land with potential mineral wealth and cut deals with traditional authorities. Although traditional authorities do not have the power to make such deals, some companies provide cash and other incentives to these leaders to act as if the community supports a mining project.

An estimated 18 million people live in these communal areas. I wrote this piece for Roads & Kingdoms about the Amadiba community in the Eastern Cape where several community activists have been murdered, likely due to their opposition to one such project. This piece for The Star highlights the Bapong community in North West that saw millions of dollars belonging to the community disappear as its traditional authorities cut a deal with one of the world's largest platinum group metals (PGM) miners.

Experts have identified what some call a "trilogy of corruption," in which the provincial government, the mining company and the traditional authorities collude. Its existence can be difficult to prove, while its impacts are quite obvious. Now, a new bill is proposed in Parliament that would further these leaders' power. It remains unclear when or how full, legal rights might be returned to the millions of South Africans living on communal land.
Sharp sharp,

Mark

Housing near Bapong, North West.

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Alternative Mining Indaba 2017

2/10/2017

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Tom Butler of the International Council on Mining & Metals addresses the protesting delegates.

Eita,
Every year, the movers and shakers of the world's mining industry meet in Cape Town to talk, network and discuss how best to maximize profits from extracting Africa's natural resources. Notably absent from that meeting are the communities directly impacted by the industry and the civil society organizations acting as government/business watchdogs.

Instead, they gather concurrently at the Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI) across town. At least partly due to the $1,500 per person ticket for the Mining Indaba, I chose to attend the free AMI.

On the last day of the conference, the AMI delegates marched across the Cape Town city center to deliver a declaration of demands (read it here: http://altminingindaba.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2017-AMI-Declaration-.pdf) to the industry's event. The protest actually made it all the way to the Cape Town International Convention Centre this year and handed over the declaration to Tom Butler, CEO of the International Council on Mining & Metals, and several other industry representatives.

The atmosphere was electric. Singing, dancing, protest selfies. It felt like the AMI had received a guarantee that industry would solve the environmental, health, social and economic consequences often associated with mining instead of merely guaranteeing to talk about them. Still, with the massive gap that exists between the opposing sides of extractives in this continent, the AMI delegates took it as a win.

An Alternative Mining Indaba delegate examining the signatures of receipt on the declaration.

About 450 delegates from 43 countries -- spanning much of Africa, Central America and several other nations around the world -- descended on Cape Town for the AMI. This is a bit up from the 40 people who showed up to the first AMI eight years ago.

The issues arising from mining were startlingly similar across the continent. Mining houses or fossil fuel companies based in Canada, Australia, Europe or the U.S. come to an African nation in desperate need of development and foreign investment. Concessions are made, tax cuts are granted, promises are made and exploration/prospecting begins. One after another, these communities took the mic and described finding out about these companies after they were already permitted and operational.

Fueled in large part by widespread poverty, very few people throughout the conference said mining should be banned outright in their home countries. There was significant talk about moving more of the value chain to Africa to keep profits here, and there was also the oft-repeated statement that mining should go away and come back as a mutually beneficial exercise.

The perceived dependence on the extraction industry was interesting, though, especially in a conference where the participants (mostly African) and translators conversed with the group in English, French or Portuguese.

There is a story coming soon, so I will stop there and let you read further when it is published. As always, thanks for checking in.
Sharp sharp,

Mark

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#16DaysofActivism and the Struggle for the Community Voice

1/2/2017

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Women protest nuclear and coal power in front of Eskom's Braamfontein offices.

Eita,

In light of the Water Protectors' recent victory over the Dakota Access Pipeline -- at least partially and for the time being -- I'd like to briefly engage with the idea of environmental justice and local activism.

On December 1, more than 100 people, mainly women, protested at the Johannesburg offices of Eskom, South Africa's main power producer. As part of the #16DaysOfActivism campaign -- which had stopping violence against women and children as its theme -- the women spun a narrative of Eskom as a male raping the country's women.

Their first demand was that Eskom stop a controversial move to significantly increase nuclear power in the country. They also protested against coal, in support of renewable energy and against the recently released Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).

The IRP, which lays out the country's electricity plan for the future, had been anxiously awaited by affected parties, and environmentalists and activists were severely disappointed with the result. The report uses outdated information to create, they claim, a narrative that a coal/nuclear mix makes sense for the country moving forward.

One of the main environmental NGOs in South Africa, groundWork submitted its comments on the IRP. Like many other observers, groundWork members were upset by the incorrect data and what it viewed as insufficient public participation. In its comments, the group wrote: "We conclude that this is not a good faith process but one designed to limit rather (sic) facilitate participation. This invites speculation on [the Department of Energy's] motives and, read with the manipulation of data, it points to deceitful defence of the nuclear agenda & of coal."

All the country's nuclear power is currently generated by the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station in the Western Cape. According to data from the Department of Energy and Eskom, the power station has two generators with a total installed capacity of 1,800 megawatts, and it provides about six percent of the country's electricity.

The fear of generating additionaly electricity via "nukes" may be a bit more steeped in Hollywood-esque fear of Three Mile Island, Fukushima and Chernobyl than scientisists might like. However, activists also question the level of technology that South Africa would obtain from abroad, where radioactive waste would be disposed and the price efficiency of choosing to build new generation in any sector other than renewables.

The CEO of Eskom recently stepped down in an attempt to clear his name after the public protector implicated him in the report on state capture. The new acting CEO is thought to be pro-nuclear. In a recent interview, he admitted that renewable is cheaper and that he would consider it for independent power producers (called IPPS). However, he then said there is not enough renewable energy potential in South Africa to meet demand. This is, of course, a claim strongly contested by the pro-RE crowd.

In November, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research released its own lowest cost scenarios for 2040: "Solar PV, wind and natural gas is the cheapest new-build mix for the South African power system."

A man peers through the windows of the Eskom offices at protesters reflected outside.

While this debate continues, the communities protesting at Eskom's offices are some of those most directly affected by electricity generation. For example, in Mpumalanga poor townships and informal settlements exist adjacent to coal mines and coal-fired power plants.

These mainly black communities are unlikely to have much of a voice in high level electricity generation decision-making. Hence a demonstration like this. Of note, no other journalists were present at the protest.

This entire situation leaves one major question about these highly impacted communities unanswered: Will their voices be heard?

Sharp,
Mark

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South Africa

PAIA Day: Transparency's a Beautiful Thing

The void, dust, gold and powering the Rainbow Nation: An online photography exhibit

South Africa's Traditional Authorities

Alternative Mining Indaba 2017

#16DaysofActivism and the Struggle for the Community Voice

Mark Olalde

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