Kader Asmal, the Minister of Water Affairs, has entered the debate on the controversial plan for a steelmill at Langebaan. Eddie Koch and Rehana Rossouw report
WATER Affairs Minister Kader Asmal wants a “total reassessment” of the impact that Iscor’s proposed steel mill will have on the ecology of the Langebaan lagoon — and will not allow the development to go ahead if his team finds it will cause large-scale environmental damage.
Controversy over plans to site a new Iscor steel mill next to the Langebaan lagoon on the Cape west coast escalated after Trade and Industry Minister Trevor Manuel announced he had given Iscor the nod to go ahead with the project.
But Asmal announced this week: “I have asked for a total reassessment of all previous studies that related to the water impacts of this project. I will make these available and put them into the public domain,” he told the Mail &
Asked if he might end up contradicting his Cabinet colleague on the issue, Asmal said his ministry had a cooperative relationship with Trade and Industry and opportunities existed for the controversy to be settled by
“If we find there are likely to be far-reaching impacts on the Breede River and the groundwater I will have to put this to Trevor (Manuel) and we can reassess the situation.”
Iscor proposes to locate the steel mill between Langebaan and the town of Saldanha, less than a kilometre away from the lagoon, which is one of the few maritime parks in South Africa and regarded as a wetland of international
Saldanha residents favour the development as it will create 4 000 jobs during the construction phase and 600 permanent jobs. The town is less concerned about the mill’s environmental impact as it already hosts a harbour and iron terminal and jetty.
Langebaan residents are opposed to the mill and want it relocated at least 10km inland because of the negative environmental impact they say it will have on the national park. They also claim the CSIR report on the impact of the project is short-sighted.
Mariculturists harvesting mussels and oysters in Saldanha have raised concerns that the project will affect their industry, which already employs 200 locals. The harbour would have to be dredged and blasted to deepen it and allow for the extra 100 vessels which will visit it after the steel mill becomes operational.
There are strong indications the controversy could polarise along class lines with poorer communities in the district coming out in favour of the mill while middle class groups stress the environmental and leisure-time importance of the Langebaan ecosystem.
“Popular opinion among the poor in the region is in favour of the mill and we must take this into account. However this will not be decisive if it is shown there will be large-scale environmental effects,” said Asmal.
“We don’t want to replicate the situation in countries like France and Germany where polluting industries were placed in working class areas. On the other hand there has to be a balancing of interests that takes into account the needs of the poor.”
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has decided to hear both sides of the argument before taking a position on the proposed mill.
“Naturally the bottom line for the union is that unemployed people in Saldanha need jobs,” said Numsa representative Fred Peters. “But we don’t want jobs at the expense of damage to the environment to the extent that we will have nothing to conserve for future generations.”
Numsa has invited Iscor and environmental groups to address its executive meeting this weekend to present their viewpoints on the issue and will formulate the union’s position afterwards.
“The National Party has in the past attempted to develop the west coast as an export processing node and even as a conduit for toxic waste at one stage. There is definitely a conspiracy to develop the area massively, with dirty industry,” said Earthlife representative Greg Knill.
Of major concern is the use of the Berg River to supply water to cool the mill and the resultant pollution to the lagoon. Environmentalists are also concerned that Iscor plans to double the capacity of the plant in five years and that it would attract related industries such as cement and steel product factories.
The World Wildlife Fund South Africa this week sent a report by WWF consultant Allan Heydorn on the environmental impact of the mill to Environment Minister Dawie de Villiers, Asmal and Manuel.
“As was the case with the controversy which raged over the dune mining issue at St Lucia, government authorities are being bombarded with emotive and contradictory demands for and against the proposed development at Saldanha,” says
“There seems to be little doubt that the concerns could be accommodated more easily if the proposed industrial node were to be shifted away from the lagoon’s edge to the area between Saldanha and Vredenburg.”
Iscor has adopted an inflexible stance on this proposal saying it would have to scrap the plan if it cannot go ahead at the Langebaan site because moving it even 10km will bring additional costs of R500-million over a 10-year
“These claims, as they appeared in the press, are not quantified in any way, nor do they take into account the potential loss of revenue to the country or the loss of work opportunities in the region if the West Coast National Park, the tourist, and the Saldanha mariculture industries were to be seriously affected.”
The Northern Cape provincial government is making a strong bid for the mill to be sited at Sishen which has none of Langebaan’s ecological sensitiveness and where job-creation is also urgently needed. The Western Cape regional government is expected to make a decision by the end of this month.