Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says it is engaging with the Musina Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) in Limpopo as part of its efforts to promote socioeconomic development that is environmentally and socially sustainable and help overcome poverty, inequality and unemployment.
This is contained in the UNDP’s recent response to an open letter from non-governmental organisations and academics, which condemned the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in March between the UN agency and the MMSEZ, an industrial mega-project.
In the letter, the more than a dozen signatories registered what they called their deep concern at the UNDP’s “public endorsement of the unsustainable coal-dependent Greater MMSEZ, which contravenes fundamental principles of sustainable development in the context of the climate crisis”.
In his response, the resident representative for UNDP South Africa, Dr Ayodele Odusola, said the organisations were committed to promoting “sustainable development in the context of the interdependence between people and nature”.
“We view development as a multi-dimensional undertaking to achieve a higher quality of life for all people,” he wrote. “As such, economic development, social development and environmental protection are interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development.”
Odusola said the UNDP’s work in South Africa was aligned with supporting the government to overcome the triple development challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment, adding: “This is operationalised through UNDP South Africa’s three focus areas; ‘enhancing inclusive growth and decent work’, ‘climate change and greening South Africa’s economy’, and ‘strengthening democratic governance’.”
The establishment of special economic zones in South Africa, such as the MMSEZ, forms part of the government’s strategic economic reforms and growth plans and Odusola said the UNDP aimed to “guide and support these developments while promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063.”
‘Partnerships are key’
“Partnerships strengthen institutional capabilities and are key to achieving transformational impact,” he said. “When considering a collaboration with any entity, UNDP considers the entity’s mandate and strategic intent and its alignment to advance the SDGs and the National Development Plan (NDP), and their commitment to doing so in accordance with the principles of protecting people and the planet, and leaving no one behind.”
All UNDP partner activities are designed to achieve common objectives in line with UN development goals. “We have precisely applied these principles when determining a cooperation agreement with the MMSEZ,” he wrote.
In addition to advancing development in Limpopo, the MMSEZ project offers the opportunity to advance the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, an initiative supported by UNDP Africa, by introducing trade corridors and gateways between South Africa and neighbouring countries, Odusola said.
Referring to the “contravention of environmental and human rights standards and UNDP principles” cited in the open letter, Odusola said the agency could not form partnerships with organisations inconsistent with the UN Charter or beyond its mandate.
The memorandum of understanding between the UNDP and MMSEZ outlines how the two entities will cooperate to promote environmental sustainability, address climate change, and empower the local community to participate in socioeconomic activities.
“It must be emphasised that MMSEZ jettisoned plans to include a coal-fired power plant in favour of a renewable energy project. This move led to the signing of an MoU with investors on the photovoltaic solar plant and hydrogen energy plant,” Odusola wrote. “The key areas of focus will include energy generation (renewable/clean energy technologies while ensuring a just transition), improved water resource management, and reducing deforestation.”
“The (agreement) formalises a non-binding partnership, which stipulates intent and commitment between our two entities. It articulates the legislative background, general principles and focuses on potential cooperation in pursuit of common goals,” he added.
He said the memorandum had identified a series of activities subject to UNDP’s respective mandates, regulations, rules, policies and procedures, including technical support, capacity building, research and innovation, environmental and climate change, forging and facilitating partnerships to grow foreign direct investment in the MMSEZ, transforming existing skills and assets within rural villages and towns towards the creation of smart cities, and the adoption of the fourth industrial revolution.
Mainstreaming rights
Odusola said the UNDP had noted areas of concern, particularly environmental sustainability, water insecurity, pollution, and lack of community consultation.
“UNDP has been given assurances, including in the form of a public statement, that all coal-fired power generation plants have been replaced by solar and hydrogen energy facilities, which reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is aligned with the outcomes of COP26 and the country’s commitment to a low-carbon economy.”
He said MMSEZ planned to invest in upgrading the water infrastructure in the Musina municipality to optimise the supply of the crucial resource, adding that water from Zimbabwe would be sourced in the short to medium term.
The long-term solution is the establishment of the Musina Dam at the confluence of Sands River and Limpopo River for domestic use and irrigation.
“This dam will also assist in containing the floods that have proven to cause devastating destruction of lives and livelihoods along the Limpopo River right through to Mozambique. Preliminary studies already indicate that the Musina Dam project is viable,” Odusola said.
He said the MMSEZ had indicated that community consultations met the required standard, adding: “Nonetheless, we are ready to work with you and other stakeholders to ensure communities’ views and needs are fully integrated into the project implementation.”
Jobs boost
A review of the MMSEZ shows the project offers a significant potential boost in local job creation through the establishment of planned agro-processing facilities, energy and metallurgy industries, as well as general manufacturing and logistics services, he said.
“A bold and innovative approach is required to ensure that projects like the MMSEZ are given adequate support to overcome poverty and unemployment in the province, and ultimately open an array of new growth opportunities for her people.”
Shavana Mushwana, spokesperson for the MMSEZ, said that in those instances where the MMSEZ was implicated in the open letter, “we obviously, in the spirit of the partnership, had to provide information as far as that is concerned”.
The MMSEZ was no longer coal-dependent, Mushwana said. “We said that the coal-fired power station has been scrapped. We’ve committed to the fact that there will not be any coal-fired power station … It’s true there are water issues in that area, but among others, it’s not scarcity, it’s because the water infrastructure is not functioning optimally.
“So, the idea is to try and improve the water infrastructure in those areas. We’ve been speaking with our Zimbabwean counterparts about the water issues. They are prepared to work with us and to give us water from Zimbabwe. The third option is one that is a much longer-term project in terms of the establishment of the Musina Dam.”
Naively accepting pronouncements
Earlier this month, the member of the executive council for economic development, environment and tourism in Limpopo dismissed the appeals of several civil society organisations for the project.
Lisa Thompson, a political economist and public-sector reform analyst at the University of the Western Cape, and a signatory to the open letter, said: “The one thing that was very obvious about the UNDP representative’s response is that they clearly did not have any in-depth understanding of this project.
“They had really no clear idea of what the controversies have been, about what has been contested and they are just taking on face value, on the basis of some public pronouncements made by the CEO, that this is going to be moving away from coal completely, despite the environmental impact assessment and the final environmental authorisation saying that they will need to have some sort of supercritical clean coal … because they have to have a consistent energy supply for the zone,” she said.
“So, the use of solar and hydrogen is not going to be able to sustain the blueprint that the zone is predicated on.”
The UNDP, Thompson said, was “naively accepting public pronouncements” without having gone into the depths of the problematic environmental and sustainability issues around the MMSEZ.
“Signing off on this as a sustainable development project at this point in time with everything up in the air does not look to me like the beginning of a good oversight process … The UNDP has a good reputation for oversight. That is a reputation I’m sure they would prefer to maintain,” she added.
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