Referring to Government's intention to proceed with shale gas mining in the Karoo before the next election in 2014, Julius Kleynhans, Head of Environmental Affairs at AfriForum confirmed to media today that AfriForum was committed to stopping Government in its tracks. “Let there be no misunderstanding: the Alliance’s position is founded on solid counsel and we are determined to see this thing through.”
 
“We will not submit to off-the-cuff statements, false promises of consultation and obfuscation by the leaders of this country. This issue has the potential to go beyond any other environmental matter the world has seen in the history of fossil fuels - we are ready for a protracted battle on all fronts,” Kleynhans said.
 
AfriForum also released a video today on YouTube in support of its campaign to provide the public with a glimpse of what fracking in the Karoo will entail [karoo.fracking.co.za].
 
Kleynhans’ sentiments were supported by Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG) CEO Jonathan Deal, when releasing a peer-reviewed critique on the Econometrix study of shale gas mining economics, a study that was commissioned and released in 2012 by RoyalDutch Shell. The study was widely hailed by those in favour of fracking the Karoo. Deal said that the opinion of international and far-thinking economists differed markedly from the methods employed in the Econometrix study and that the document released by the Alliance would at a minimum establish a very sound case for a full-blown economic model to be run in South Africa.
 
“It is beyond embarrassing that the government of the economic powerhouse of Africa can be so gullible.” Arguing that, even as a tiny NPO, TKAG could conduct real research of the economic realities of shale gas mining, Deal asserted that at the very minimum, “the government must stop, consider, and openly involve various stakeholders in a comprehensive and far-reaching study of every aspect of this decision.”
 
“It is not enough to swallow the promises of companies who gamble with the future of this country whilst promoting their own profit objectives,” he concluded.
 
The Alliance supported its statement by distributing a synopsis of the critique of the Econometrix report supported by an audio-visual presentation.
 
·         See a summary of the findings attached.