25 July 2006
Letter to the Editor,The Mercury, 25 July 2006 in response
to Bonke Dumisa, CEO of Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
opinion piece and speech delivered to the Chamber of Commerce
and Industry this third Annual Environmental meeting, as the
CEO of this body.
Bonke's colonial environmental construct
The Editor
Bonke Dumisa’s opinion piece refers. Similar views
were expressed at his address to the Durban Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (DCCI), third Annual Environmental meeting, as
the CEO of this body.
Bonke’s interpretation of community people and NGOs
challenging environment issues are a figment of a colonial
construct. Today, community people and NGOs who campaign on
environmental issues do so from a justice perspective, which
is referred to as environmental justice - meaning that we
fight to have the right to live in an “environment that
is not harmful to our health and well-being”. What is
critical in this statement, which is a direct quote from our
Bill of Rights, is that we are not fighting for a clean environment
- that is colonial. We are protecting lives, wanting safe
communities and, most importantly in South Africa, safe jobs.
His contention that community people and environmental NGOs
are against “job creating projects” is a misrepresentation
of the distressing business truth about the city of Durban.
For it is recognised that while industrial expansions have
occurred in places such as south Durban, there has been a
decrease in jobs in this sector. More importantly, what he
fails to mention is that no EIA has ever been rejected as
yet for industrial development.
Ironically, in Richards Bay, Mondi requested government to
relocate Tata Steel away from the site adjacent to them because
of possible chrome contamination of their paper that is exported
to Europe. Government agreed to this industrial request, then
stuck it next to the local community who said no, we do not
want chrome pollution. Yet government gave the go ahead, because
Mondi’s exports to Europe are more important than the
lungs and health of people. This is environmental injustice.
With regard to hazardous waste being dumped in Umlazi, the
south Durban community people stood in solidarity for years
with the Umlazi people fighting for the site to be closed.
On 27 February 1997, it was closed. This was after much lobbying
and late night meetings with councillors in Umlazi. However,
it remains open today, despite our contestation, so that members
of the DCCI can continue dumping their hazardous industrial
ash within a black neighbourhood. Speak to your DCCI members
about this injustice; do not blame it on NGOs.
Let us be frank, environmental justice is about power. The
power to enact your democratic right as given to you by a
hard fought struggle for more than 300 years. The power to
say we want an industrial development paradigm that serves
the people, not increased profits for business.
Finally, to be blasé about DDT, is a irresponsible
attitude by a senior business leader, who should be fully
aware of the global debates around the dangers of DDT.
Sincerely yours
S. (Bobby) Peek
Director of groundWork
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