ANC MP kicks dust in the faces of those who want to stop the Saldanha steel mill, reports Rehana Rossouw
African National Congress MP Jenny Schreiner this week hit out at “arrogant” conservationists for trying to stop Iscor from building a steel mill in the environmentally sensitive Langebaan lagoon area at
Her broadside came as a Saldanha landowner brought an urgent interdict against the Western Cape government to prevent the site for the proposed mill from being rezoned for industrial use.
Accusing conservationsists of ignoring the needs of working class communities, Schreiner, who services the Saldanha constituency on the Cape west coast for the ANC, says the economic prospects for residents in the area are bleak. Fishing is in decline and is a seasonal activity. Many fishermen supplement their incomes by working on farms, where wages are “appallingly low”.
The steel mill, says Iscor, will create 4 000 construction jobs and several hundred permanent jobs.
Schreiner says the south-west coast needs to be developed as a matter of urgency, and wants a strategic environmental assessment of Saldanha be conducted soon, to examine the viability of the fishing industry, ecotourism and other industries, including the steel
“The development of the area could be an RDP dream. It could be people-oriented, empowering and environment- friendly. The area could get housing, roads, schools, clinics and, most importantly, jobs,” Schreiner says.
She says that while landowners were raising concerns about the impact of the steel mill on the “pristine beauty” of the area, Iscor had consulted working class communities about the mill. The local ANC branches, civics and unions had been given commitments from Iscor on environmental issues and occupational health.
“It is incredibly arrogant to assume that only the bourgeoisie — the landowners — are concerned about the environment and able to make informed decisions related to it.
“I briefed people recently at a fishing industry summit in Saldanha Bay on the steel mill project and the steps which should be taken to protect the environment. Although I was addressing fishermen, people whose level of formal education is extremely low, the entire hall debated the merits of the project.
“The fishermen, who live off the sea, spoke of how they had to go further and further out to sea to find mossbankers and how their grandfathers had stood on shore with lines and caught them.
“The environment is in these people’s blood. They might not be able to talk about environmental impact assessments, but they have a better understanding of their immediate environment than many intellectuals with their fancy theories.”
Schreiner is also scathing about the call by landowners to protect the “pristine beauty” of the area. “There is no pristine beauty anywhere in South Africa. It’s a misconception to believe that people have left any part of the country untouched. Apartheid certainly did not touch it in a way that left it protected.
“It’s easy for the environmentalists to sit back and criticise development in this area. It’s not as easy to come up with an alternative which improves the quality of life of the people there.”
Schreiner says that the benefits of ecotourism in the area amount to “a big zero” for the working class
“There has been no community involvement in the ecotourism industry around Saldanha. Residents were never consulted about exploiting their area’s natural resources for tourism.”
Schreiner’s views are echoed by University of Cape Town environmentalist Farieda Khan. Providing jobs or protecting the environment should never be an either/or debate, she says. The situation has to be examined holistically, and from every community’s point of view.
“South Africa is a developing nation, which makes it difficult at the best of times to decide in favour of preserving the aesthetics of an area at the expense of people’s basic needs. At the same time, the country also has a responsibility to future generations to preserve the environment.”
Khan says each development has to be judged on its merits, balancing the short-term employment needs against the long-term environmental imperatives.
She says there is an erroneous perception that the environmental debate is one which belongs primarily to white people and cannot be taken seriously by black
“This perception was inherited during the apartheid past when environmentalists were seen to be primarily concerned with preservation and wildlife issues. Black communities viewed environmentalists as people who were saving the whales and the rhinos at the expense of their needs,” Khan says.
“So the response from people was very hostile. They were also apathetic because they were sunk in everyday survival concerns. Yet people in South Africa have always been interested in environmental concerns because it has to do with where they live, work and
Khan is also sceptical of attaching too great a significance to protecting scenery from industrialisation. While industry needs to be planned “sensitively”, environmentalists are often too caught up in preserving “traditional” beauty spots.
“In Cape Town, for example, there’s too much emphasis on the peninsula, on Table Mountain and the Cape of Good Hope nature reserve. For how many people is it beautiful? How many people have experienced its beauty?
“There are so many people living on the Cape Flats who have never been to these places, for whom it holds little significance. Environmentalists have to realise that there are indigenous plants on the Cape Flats which are beautiful and just as worth preserving as those on Table Mountain or in distant nature reserves.
“Everyone needs to be informed of the impact of a development. How many people are talking about the Saldanha mill? All you have right now are experts and environmentalists slugging it out. You never hear the views of ordinary people,” Khan said.
“The environment belongs to every citizen in South Africa, not a few experts. What should be happening is that experts inform the public so that they can also participate in the debate.”