12 February 2008 - Media
Statement - Department of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism - TUESDAY, 12 FEBRUARY
2008: The development
of infrastructure and the investment in
Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCA’s)
is gaining momentum. Ministers and senior
officials from Angola, Botswana, Lesotho,
Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland,
Zambia and Zimbabwe met yesterday in Gauteng.
They discussed the progress in the implementation
of the TFCA development strategy for 2010
and beyond.
The strategy, which
was endorsed by the Ministers in 2005, is
designed to position TFCAs as Southern Africa’s
premier tourism destination. The following
issues were discussed at the meeting:
The development of a
strategic brand for TFCAs. This brand will
be launched on 10 May 2008 in Durban, South
Africa. It will form the basis for awareness
/ advocacy campaigns and the active marketing
of TFCAs.
The development of an
investment catalogue which will be a guide
containing important information for potential
investors such as why invest in TFCAs, how
to invest in TFCAs, investment opportunities,
investment incentives and contact information.
The hosting of a TFCA
Investment Conference on 20-21 October 2008
at the Sandton Convention Centre in South
Africa with the aim to market investment
opportunities in TFCAs.
The ministers expressed
concern at the ecological damage caused
to beaches and other environmentally sensitive
areas by quad bikes and 4x4s mainly from
South Africa. The regulation of such activities
in South Africa has resulted in more pressures
on ecologically sensitive areas in neighboring
countries. They asked South Africa to assist
in putting a stop to this damaging activity.
It’s being considered to develop a protocol
for the region to manage or regulate these
activities.
There was also further
agreement on the need to prioritise conservation
issues such as:
Wildlife exchange programmes
and translocation
Cross-border research programmes.
Ministers however raised concern about the
process of implementing the UNIVISA as it
has a direct impact on the success of TFCAs
in terms of facilitating the easy flow of
tourists in the region.
In conclusion, these
countries agreed on the need to work together
in promoting ecotourism and the conservation
of natural resources. The ministers will
meet again in a near future to discuss progress
in addressing these issues.
Mava Scott (Acting Chief Director: Communications)
STATEMENT BY THE OFFICE OF MARTHINUS VAN
SCHALKWYK, MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS
& TOURISM, ON 5 FEBRUARY 2008
The Minister of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism, Mr. Marthinus van Schalkwyk,
has considered the appeals lodged against
the Department’s decision to grant an environmental
authorisation of the construction of a Peaking
Power Plant at the Avon Site in the Shakaskraal
area, KwaZulu-Natal.
After evaluating all
the appeals and relevant information submitted
to him, the Minister has come to a decision,
a copy of which is attached hereto.
APPEAL DECISION
APPEALS AGAINST THE
ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION OF THE CONSTRUCTION
OF A PEAKING POWER PLANT AT THE AVON SITE
IN THE SHAKASKRAAL AREA, KWAZULU NATAL
1. INTRODUCTION
In terms of section 22 of the Environment
Conservation Act (ECA), 1989, read with
the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations
published in Government Notice No. R 1182
of 5 September 1997, the Director-General
of the Department of Environmental Affairs
and Tourism (DEAT) on 14 September 2007
authorised the Department of Minerals and
Energy (DME) to proceed with preparations
for the construction of a peaking power
plant on the abovementioned site. After
the Record of Decision had been issued,
two appeals were lodged against this authorisation.
2. BACKGROUND
A peaking power plant is generally run only
during periods of peak demand for electricity
but it may also be activated when other
power plants are under maintenance or in
exceptional circumstances when the security
of the grid supply is threatened. By necessity,
it must be possible to bring such a plant
to its maximum production capacity in a
very short time. Therefore, the generators
of a peaking power plant are driven by Open
Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGT) which are fuelled
by either diesel or kerosene and at full
load it is expected to produce 900 MW of
electricity. At this production rate it
is anticipated to consume approximately
225 tons of fuel per hour. A plant of this
nature is expected to operate on average
only 10% of the time during its life span.
It is obvious that generation
of electricity by means of OCGTs is extremely
costly. It is imperative, therefore, that
peaking power plants be situated at as low
an altitude as possible to allow the plants
to operate at maximum efficiency. Furthermore,
close proximity to existing Eskom infrastructure
and to sources of fuel are also important
considerations in the location of these
plants. Hence, this plant will be located
approximately 65 km north of Durban and
about 8 km inland from the coastline, adjacent
to Eskom’s existing Avon substation.
The peaking power plant
will be operated by an independent power
producer who will be decided upon by means
of competitive bidding processes.
3. APPEALS
Two appeals opposing
the decision of the Director-General were
lodged in terms of section 35(3) of the
ECA. The following emerged as the major
grounds of appeal:
a) As an industrial
undertaking which will be privately operated
for profit, the plant should be located
within an officially designated industrial
area.
b) The provisions for the control of emissions
are insufficient. Stack emissions should
be continuously monitored.
c) The plant should have been located closer
to the fuel source or, alternatively, within
close proximity to a rail link to allow
fuel delivery by means of rail transport.
This will alleviate the impact of heavy
duty traffic on affected residential areas.
d) An increase in criminal activities especially
during the construction phase is anticipated.
e) The impact of the proposed development
on the values of properties in the area
was inaccurately assessed.
f) The large quantity of highly combustible
fuel stored on the site will represent a
severe hazard in an area where sugar cane
is regularly burned under controlled conditions.
g) News of the development will cause an
influx of job seekers.
4. DECISION
In reaching my decision
I have considered the documents and other
information listed below:
a) The record of decision
(ROD), reference number 12/12/20/710 dated
14 September 2007 and the documents associated
therewith.
b) The appeals lodged by the two appellants.
c) The comments by Environmental Impact
Management Services on behalf of the applicant
(Department of Minerals and Energy) regarding
the appeals.
I am satisfied that the decision made by
the Director-General in the original ROD
was the correct decision. Hence, in terms
of section 35(4) of the Environment Conservation
Act, 1989 (Act 73 of 1989), I have decided
to dismiss the appeals lodged against the
decision to authorise the construction of
the peaking power plant at the Avon site
in the Shakaskraal area in KwaZulu Natal.
The reasons for my decision are, inter alia,
as follows:
a) The Director-General
adequately considered the major anticipated
environmental impacts of the proposed development
before making the decision. The mitigation
measures proposed in the EIR and the management
actions recommended in the environmental
management plan (EMP) go a long way towards
reducing the impact of the plant.
b) Both appellants raised the location of
the plant as a major ground of appeal, indicating
that it would have been more appropriate
for it to be situated in a designated industrial
area and not in an agricultural area as
is currently proposed. However, this is
a planning decision which will have to be
taken in terms of planning legislation based
on physical planning considerations. This
falls outside the purview of environmental
impact legislation and, hence, is beyond
my decision making competence. In my view
the proposed location is fully acceptable
in terms of the relevant environmental considerations.
c) Both appellants accepted the comments
and explanations of the applicant on the
other issues raised in their appeals.
d) There is a dire need for the development
of peaking power plants to ensure a stable
supply of electricity to the country as
a whole.
MARTHINUS VAN SCHALKWYK,
MP
MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM
+ More
17 Arrested, 2 Super
Ducks Confiscated as Authorities Swoop Down
on Poachers
14 February 2008 - Media
Statement - Department of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism - THURSDAY, 14 FEBRUARY
2008: Authorities have shown the might of
collaborative enforcement against poaching
and illegal diving as officials from the
Department of Environmental Affairs and
Tourism (DEAT) and the South African Police
Services (SAPS) swooped down on alleged
poachers when they arrested 17 suspects
in two separate incidents during the early
hours of this morning, Thursday 14 February
2008, in Hout Bay and Robben Island respectively.
As the diving ban regulations,
which were Gazetted on 1 February 2008,
entered its third week of enforcement, a
total of fifteen alleged poachers were arrested
on Robben Island during a night-long operation.
Robben Island is one of four areas where
a total ban on diving has been placed as
part of measures for the protection of wild
abalone and to promote the recovery and
rebuilding of the resource.
The fifteen suspects
were finally brought to Cape Town harbour
earlier this morning (14 February 2008)
after officials from DEAT and SAPS took
up position on and around the Island throughout
the night to ensure the arrest of all the
suspects.
When the suspects realized their boat was
taken over by law enforcement officials,
they swam to the island where they attempted
to hide.
As officers were positioned on land and
at sea, the presence of a dispatched police
helicopter to Robben Island added air positioning
as well.
All the suspects were
arrested by 9h00 this morning.
A super duck, 77 abalone
and abalone shucking equipment were confiscated.
In terms of the regulations
for the protection of wild abalone, gazetted
on 1 February 2008, a penalty of up to R500
000,00 or a prison sentence of up to two
years can be imposed for failure to comply
with the regulations.
In a separate incident,
almost at the same time at around 01h30,
another super duck was confiscated at the
Hout Bay harbour after law enforcement officials
monitored two men entering the harbour with
a super duck, presumably intending to poach.
The skipper was arrested
in accordance Merchant Shipping Act. The
second suspect was arrested for an outstanding
warrant of arrest linked to another abalone
poaching case.
Carol Moses
+ More
Tourism is a Strong
Pillar to Economic Growth
13 February 2008 - Media
Statement - Department of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism - WEDNESDAY, 13 FEBRUARY
2008: “Grow tourism using proven draw-cards
such as entertainment, leisure, wildlife,
culture, business, religion and agricultural
pillars,” the Deputy Minister of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism, Ms Rejoice Mabudafhasi
told delegates at the Regional and International
Tourism Conference in Algeria on 11th February
2008. The conference drew to a close yesterday,
12th February 2008.
The Deputy Minister
commended the existence of strong rewarding
partnerships between the government, the
private sector, community and the labour
movements in South Africa. She emphasized
that if correct marketing fundamentals are
in place, tourism can achieve its vision
of being a key contributor to the intended
6% annual economic growth in South Africa
and will have similar effects in other African
states.
Ms Rejoice Mabudafhasi
advised her African counterparts to give
top priority to quality assurance of the
tourism facilities and ensure that tourist
destinations are safe and secure. She called
for compliance institutions to be set up
and cited the South African Tourism Grading
Council as a shining example in this regard
for ensuring that minimum standards are
set and compliance monitored. This has resulted
in high satisfaction levels among tourists
visiting South Africa as they keep on coming
back.
The Deputy Minister
also welcomed the achievements of the goals
set for Sho’t Left, a campaign aimed at
encouraging over 5.1 million South Africans
with resources and the desire to travel
to first travel to a variety of affordable
and easily accessible local holiday destinations.
Tourism Indaba, Welcome Campaign and Emerging
Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Award (ETEYA)
will be pursued vigorously to promote the
culture of local travelling. Ms Mabudafhasi
urged the delegates to develop similar campaigns
in their respective countries to boost tourism
promotion.
Ms Mabudafhasi informed
the conference that South Africa wants to
increase the number of foreign arrivals
to 10 million during the 2010 Soccer World
Cup to be hosted locally.
Advertising agreements concluded with National
Geographic Channel, NBC, BBC World, showcasing
vibrant urban destinations such as Johannesburg
and Cape Town to a truly global audience
will be the vehicle used to reach this target.
SA is following a consistent strategy to
increase awareness of her products to the
UK, France, Italy, Netherlands, Germany,
Asia, Africa and the US markets. Marketing
budget has been increased by 40% specifically
to target the Europe market.
Through these marketing
initiatives, South African tourism has made
an overall contribution of 8.3% to the GDP
from over 8 million arrivals in 2007. This
has boosted our economy to the tune of R57.3
billion which resulted in job creation and
eradication of poverty.
For a copy of the Deputy
Minister’s speech click on the link below
http://www.deat.gov.za/NewsMedia/Speeches/2008Feb11/08022008.pdf
For more information
regarding the Regional and International
Tourism Conference in Algeria as well as
to interview the Deputy Minister please
feel free to contact:
Moses Rannditsheni
