The historic town of Tulbagh is anxiously waiting to see if Eskom goes ahead with a proposed power line to supplement the electricity needs of the Western Cape.
”We are watching developments [in Cape Town] with concern,” said John Veschini, property developer and secretary to the Tulbagh Action Committee, on Thursday.
He was responding to a series of electricity blackouts in the Western Cape and Eskom’s plan to construct a 765kW transmission line, as part of the ”Cape Strengthening Project”, through the middle of the scenic Tulbagh valley.
Veschini said the project, on the drawing board since 2003, would see the construction of 14-storey metal pylons, and affect the inhabitants of Tulbagh, as well as the neighbouring areas of Gouda, Ceres and Riebeeck Kasteel.
”Of concern are possible health risks, probable sterilisation in terms of development potential, probable adverse effects on the flora and fauna, and risk to crop-spraying aircraft and farming machinery,” said Veschini.
Referring to a letter to Eskom’s divisional transmission director in December 2003, Veschini said the town is concerned about the environmental impact report completed.
He said it seems the data in the environmental impact report is outdated, having been gathered before the year 2000.
Furthermore, the report was commissioned by Eskom, which has a vested interest in the project.
On suggestions that the action committee only wants to frustrate the process, the committee’s chairperson, John Parr, responded in the letter: ”We would suppose it is fairly easy sitting in an office in Gauteng to make such a remark; unfortunately this power line will directly impact in every way on the community of this valley and it is our constitutional as well as moral right to oppose its construction on our doorstep.”
The action committee noted that a proposed southern route for the pylons would be the ”most advantageous” because nesting Cape vultures have apparently taken up residence on the mountain ridge above the preferred central route.
”We would assume that in 2003 Eskom is much more environmentally sensitive and efficient in its erection of power lines than when it built the existing 400kW line on the southern route … [and] if the new line were built on this route, would impact on flora far less.”
The action committee said the habitation of the endangered geometric tortoise could be adversely affected.
The committee contends that the central route has more potential to be disruptive, both economically and visually.
Veschini likened the campaign to prevent the construction of the pylons to saving Tulbagh from what can be seen as ”its second major catastrophe since the 1969 earthquake”.
Charles Kadalie, the City of Cape Town’s public lighting manager, referred all queries to Eskom. ”It’s not my project … It’s Eskom you must ask, it’s their baby,” he said.
Numerous attempts to obtain comment from Eskom were fruitless.
Witzenberg municipal manager Dana du Plessis said the mayor, Rex Nigrini, met Eskom management two weeks ago to discuss the project.
”They appealed to the mayor that he must go back to convince council that they mustn’t fight against one another … It’s in the national interest, and not only a Witzenberg issue,” said Du Plessis.
He confirmed that the municipality has joined the action committee in opposing the project, with an appeal lodged against its development, mainly because of the aesthetic and environmental impact of the pylons.
Du Plessis said the committee is waiting for Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk to rule on the appeal, before the council takes a decision. — Sapa