Problems foreseen with fibre instalment plan in Marloth Park
Deidré Joubert, Wild and Free Rehabilitation Centre in Hectorspruit, writes:
We foresee a big problem with the recent announcement of fibre that will be installed in Marloth Park through KCS Internet Service Provider. Marloth Park is a conservation area and the fauna and flora are already under immense pressure due to overgrazing and drought.
The fibre KCS is planning to install will have a Wi-Fi connection from Komatipoort to one of Marloth’s gates. They will install a fibre box from which cables will be running. This means that it is a Wi-Fi fibre connection. They have to dig trenches of one-and-a-half metres deep, over 190 kilometres with manholes to service the entire Marloth Park. They want to start during baby season.
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The problems we see are as follows:
Animals will land in these trenches, which will be very difficult to get out of again. They can even break their legs trying to free themselves from it.
Protected tree and plant species will be dug up. They say they will go around them. How far do you need to go around a tree to not damage its roots? There will be less grazing for wildlife.
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Power and water interruption is a given. Water pipes and electricity cables are close to the surface. There are no management plans to indicate where all the water pipes or electricity cables are. So they will be digging trenches blindly. Marloth Park has a major issue with erosion, especially on the gravel roads. Once trenches are closed and the rainy season starts, the trenches will be flushed open. No environmental impact studies were done.
The installation was only communicated to the residents four days ago.
