Let me first, thank the Krugersdorp NEWS team for their in-depth reporting on Kagiso residents protesting against the Mintails SA blasting operations.
The NEWS even go all out looking for comment from Mogale City Local Municipality.
That is what we called balanced reporting and we say thank you.
However, there was only one important stakeholder, the Environmental Management Forum, that was not consulted for its comment.
It has been mentioned at the community meeting but maybe they don’t understand the purpose of the Environmental Management Forum (EMF).
As the chairperson of the Community Leadership Forum (CLF), I see it as important for me to clarify the purpose and outline the terms of reference that guide the functioning of the Mintails SA EMF, as some called on the Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu to disband it.
The key purpose of the EMF is to involve community stakeholders to identify environmental concerns and possible solutions through frequent communication regarding mining projects of Mintails SA and its subsidiaries.
In our understanding Mintails has invited various government department including the councillors who failed to attend the meetings.
I totally agree with the explanation given by Jan Jacobs, General Manager of Mintails SA on how the EMF was established.
Mintails has been consulting with the community for three months, calling the public to participation processes and impact assessment.
And this was done through advertisements in the local and national press, by word of mouth and canvassing identified property owners and regulators.
This series of meeting including the one of 29 November 2013 in Kagisanong Community Hall, Kagiso 1 culminated in the establishment of the Environmental Management Forum (EMF), of which Kagiso is a member.
