LHR is delighted that the Pretoria High Court has allowed our clients to intervene in the review of the #miningcharter

Date: 14/11/2017


LHR is delighted that the Pretoria High Court today ruled that four of its clients, should be allowed to intervene in the review of the 2017 Mining Charter brought by the Chamber of Mines against the Minister of Mineral Resources.

Lawyers for Human Rights is delighted that the Pretoria High Court today ruled that four of its clients, the Bakgatla Ba Sefikile, Lesethleng, Babina Phuthi Ba Ga-Makola, and Kgatlu communities, will be allowed to intervene in the review of the 2017 Mining Charter brought by the Chamber of Mines against the Minister of Mineral Resources.  The review hearing is scheduled for December.

The Bakgatla Ba Sefikile, Lesethleng, Babina Phuthi Ba Ga-Makola, and Kgatlu residents contend, among other things, that mining-affected communities were not properly consulted in the formulation of this latest Charter, and that certain critical provisions are too vaguely drafted to be valid. They believe that development of a new Charter, which reflects the rights and interests of these communities, including their rights to development and transformation, is essential.

The Chamber opposed the intervention of these communities in the review application. The Court nevertheless granted them the right to participate in the December proceedings, and ordered that the Chamber must pay the communities’ legal costs associated with today’s intervention application.

Mine-hosting communities routinely bear the brunt of the negative impacts associated with mining, including: noise, air, and water pollution, economic and social distortions, public health problems, and land deprivation. Despite this, most mining-affected communities have garnered little lasting benefit from mining activities on their land.

“It is gratifying that the Court saw fit to ensure that the people most affected by mining operations will be heard in the review of the Charter,” said Michael Clements, head of the Environmental Rights Programme at Lawyers for Human Rights. “The voices and experiences of mining-affected activities must be considered when new mining regulations and policy are formulated.”

 

For more information please contact:

Michael Clements, Environmental Rights Programme Manager on 011 339 1960

OR

Carol Mohlala, Media and Communications Manager on 079 238 9826

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