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Alternatives
• 6000 Hectares of pristine bush PLUS over 100,000 protected trees (including baobab, marula and mopane) will have to be moved to a yet to be identified “biodiversity offset site”!!! • The SEZ project’s total emissions from the project being up to 16% of SA’s total carbon budget” • Over 180 so-called heritage resources are identified, including ‘stone-age’ sites, graves & burial grounds JOBS - fanciful projections of thousands of jobs for locals are a straight falsehood! Jobs will go to Chinese nationals! • The coal fired power station is being played down by presenters, but it will be built, polluting air & water! • The future of productive Farming & a growing Tourism industry is under fatal threat!
Another summary was posted on the NOTOSEZ website (www.notosez.org), which argued:
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• The negatives of this proposal outweigh the positives, so why has EAP recommended approval? • The Governance of this proposal is flawed – the same team that are proposing the EMSEZ are appointed to approve it. A national decision making body is needed. • We object to this being a 120 year deal for a coal power station. This is against every climate goal South Africa committed to achieve. • 95% of the water needs will come from the Limpopo – and NO impact assessment has been done for the water users and aquifers downstream. The proposal should fail on these grounds alone. • There is no assessment of the feasibility, environmental impact or other consequences of building two enormous dams in the Sand River. • Why has a R12.3Bn “unsolicited quote” been received to build TWO dams, from whom? • The water scientists have made a critical error in their method of assessing the water risk and a review of their work should be undertaken.
Alternatives
A number of alternatives to the EMSEZ were produced during the objections phase and the uneasy lull that followed. Among these are the Malumbwane’s own vision for using the land reform land (see below), Mupo’s vision, as well as the Vhembe Agri Multiplier plan, which proposes a water harvesting for the expansion of irrigation along the tributaries to the Limpopo.
