News Lelemuku

PRETORIA, LELEMUKU.COM - At least 60 people have been killed and more than 1,000 have fled their homes after heavy rains caused flooding and mudslides along South Africa's eastern coast, authorities said on Wednesday.

Most of the deaths were in KwaZulu-Natal province. Flooding also killed at least three people in neighboring Eastern Cape province, state broadcaster SABC said.

The rains mainly hit areas around the port city of Durban. Multiple dwellings collapsed in mudslides, said Robert McKenzie, a KwaZulu-Natal Emergency Medical Services spokesman.

Rescue workers were digging through collapsed buildings on Wednesday.
Victor da Silva, a resident of the coastal town of Amanzimtoti, said his family managed to evacuate before the floods destroyed their home and cars.

"On Monday, the water was just crazy. And yesterday morning I got here, everything was fine, my garage was still here, the other part of the house was still here, and it just couldn't stop raining," Da Silva said. "And then an hour and a half later, everything poof (vanished) because the rain just hasn't stopped.

Authorities in southern Tanzania ordered evacuations of residents from low-lying areas and the closure of schools and offices ahead of landfall of Tropical Cyclone Kenneth on neighboring Mozambique’s coast on Thursday.

"We've decided to evacuate all residents of valleys and other low-lying areas and we advise them to seek refuge at public spaces," Mtwara regional commissioner Gelasius Byakanwa, told reporters.

Johan Fourie said he fled his home in Amanzimtoti, Kwazulu-Natal, just before part of it collapsed.

"I nearly lost my life, and my neighbor, I believe, is in hospital," Fourie told eNCA television.

The region had been hit by heavy rains for days, but authorities did not foresee the extent of the downpour late on Monday, said Lennox Mabaso, a spokesman for the provincial Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs department.

"As a result, there was flooding and some structures were undermined and collapsed on people," Mabaso said.

Some people were swept away by the water, he added. President Cyril Ramaphosa visited affected communities in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday and was expected in the Eastern Cape in the next few days.

"This is partly what climate change is about, that it just hits when we least expect it," he said.

Last week, 13 people were killed during an Easter service in KwaZulu-Natal when a church wall collapsed after days of heavy rains and strong winds. (VOA)

PRETORIA, LELEMUKU.COM - South Africa's coal mining heartland has the worst air quality in the world, according to a recent study by environmental group Greenpeace. The 12 large coal mines in this area make it the world’s hotspot for toxic nitrogen dioxide emissions. Residents and health experts say the effects are ruining their health and their lives.

Thirty-five-year-old Patrick Mdluli considered himself healthy until he moved two years ago to Mpumalanga province - South Africa’s coal mining heartland.

He developed breathing problems, including tuberculosis and nasal issues.

“The mines, the dust, pollution -- you go to doctors, they tell you the very same thing. ‘Are you living next to a mine?’ Yes, I am. ‘Are you living next to a dumping site?’ Yes, I am,” said Mdluli.

A large coal mine operates, literally, in Mdluli’s backyard.

The mine has conducted blasts every day, shaking his small home to its foundation and causing a large crack in the wall.

This sunnyswath of South Africa last year earned the unfortunate distinction of having the world’s worst air quality, says the environmental group Greenpeace.
And it shows, said the head of one of Middelburg’s main clinics, Dr. Mohammed Tayob.

Tayob has lived in the area his entire life and says the emissions from the mines have made many of his patients sick.

“Children and adults are paying the ultimate price. When we say ultimate price, it’s the neurocognitive, loss of neurocognitive development, children’s infant mortality rate is higher in our area than other areas, adults, heart attacks and respiratory diseases are much higher. So people are paying with their lives, across the board, because of these pollutants in the air,” he said.

Tayob blames the coal mining industry and poor governance.

Although mines are big money, locals say the coal companies have done little to improve the community.

Middelburg is poor and many people lack basic services like electricity and running water.

Tayob said the government is also failing to enforce environmental laws and crack down on the mines.

“One cannot be faulted in thinking, ‘Is there some level of corruption operating in this area as well, where these big boys are getting away with murder, literally?’ They’re literally getting away with murder. It's just the reality. I’d like someone to come up and dispute this fact and challenge me on that,” he said.

VOA contacted three of the larger mines in the area for comment. None of them responded to our request.

Environmental activist Bafana Hlatshwayo said he and other activists are preparing to lobby decision-makers at an upcoming mining industry gathering in Cape Town.

They want the coal industry to shift to a cleaner resource: the region’s abundant sunshine.

Bringing solar panel production to the area, said Hlatshwayo, would also create jobs.

“We are not saying we want to close down the mines...We must go the renewable energy way, we are saying, people will manufacture solar panels inside South Africa, and they are the ones who are supposed to install the solar panels and they are the ones who are supposed to maintain the solar panels,” he said.

But that is a faraway dream for people like Mdluli and his neighbors, who complain unemployment is high and all of them - including the children - have health problems.

This province, said longtime resident and environmental activist William Jiyane, used to be beautiful.

“It’s endless agony, now, Mpumalanga. It’s not bread and butter anymore. It’s endless agony,” he said.

South Africa is the continent’s largest coal producer and relies on coal to power much of the economy.

But for the poor communities that live in the shadow of coal mines - it just makes them sick. (VOA)

PRETORIA,  LELEMUKU.COM - South Africa's main opposition party said on Tuesday it could go to court to stop proposed land reforms after parliament approved a report endorsing a constitutional amendment that would allow expropriations without compensation.

Land is a hot-button issue in South Africa where racial inequality remains entrenched more than two decades after the end of apartheid when millions among the black majority were dispossessed of their land by a white minority.

A parliamentary team last month recommended a constitutional amendment to make it possible for the state to expropriate land without compensation in the public interest.

The team's report was debated in parliament on Tuesday and approved by a majority of the members present.

However, adopting the report is just one step in a long process to change the constitution to allow for land reforms. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who replaced Jacob Zuma in February, has prioritized land redistribution as he seeks to unite the fractured ruling African National Congress (ANC) and win public support ahead of an election next year.

But the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) and some rights groups are critical of the government's plans, saying it will jeopardize property rights and scare off investors.

"We support expropriation of land without compensation or zero Rand compensation in the public interest," the ANC's Vincent Smith said during the parliamentary debate. Ahead of Tuesday's debate, John Steenhuisen, the main opposition's chief whip, said "the DA will not hesitate to
approach the courts" should the report backing the expropriation of land be adopted.

Following Tuesday's vote, a new bill proposing the change to Section 25 of the constitution to allow for expropriation of land without compensation would need to be drafted.

It would also require the public's contribution before a debate and vote in the assembly. To become law, it would need passed by both houses of parliament and then signed by Ramaphosa. It is unclear how long this process would take.

Last week the High Court rejected a legal challenge brought by AfriForum, a group representing mainly white Afrikaners who wanted to overturn a parliamentary committee report supporting changes to the constitution. (VOA)