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I have noted with the greatest concern news of an application by a mining company, Cienth (Pty) Ltd, for prospecting/exploration rights on over 4000 hectares situated 12 km west of the village of Napier, in the Cape Agulhas Municipality.

Environmentalists agree that open-cast mining in the affected area will not only pose a grave risk to jobs in the local agricultural and tourism sectors, but will also inflict irreversible destruction on a complex ecosystem and the sensitive biodiversity of the entire area between Napier and the coast.

Not only will the catchment area of the Karsriver, a crucially important waterway for the region, be negatively impacted but the highly sensitive and world-renown wetlands of the Agulhas Plains also stand to be adversely affected.

The unbridled pursuit of short-term financial gain for a select few can never justify the lasting damage that will inevitably be inflicted upon the natural environment and the people that inhabit this special part of the world.

That is why it is of the utmost importance that all affected and interested parties join hands in fighting this, and any other similar applications, with all the means at our disposal.

Issued by Nicholas Myburgh MP - Constituency Head: Cape Agulhas Municipality