The mining corporation Coal of Africa Ltd (CoAL) continues to push forward with plans to open a coking coal mine in the Venda region of South Africa.
On Wednesday 11th April, CoAL held a ‘Water Open Day’ forum in Venda as part of their public participation programme regarding the proposed Makhado Coal Mine. CoAL wants to open the coking coal mine at the start of 2013, and are currently waiting the approval of their water license application.
Here lies the issue: Water! The Venda region is one of the driest in South Africa. It is also home to a diverse range of plant and wildlife, and to vibrant traditional communities. If the mine goes ahead, it will pose a serious threat to the water of the region; potentially decimating it by 2014! This will affect people, plants, animals, everyone. As so many of the community assert in this short video of the Water Open Day meeting, “There is not enough water in this area!”
Please show your support to the communities of Venda, and to Dzomo la Mupo (Voices of the Earth), a community organisation who are standing up against giants to fight for their rights, their land and their water. Visit www.gaiafoundation.org to find out more about how you can help. You can write straight to the decision makers in the South African government and put pressure on them to deny the CoAL water application.
John Ahniwanika Schertow is an indigenous rights activist of Mohawk (Kanienkehaka) and mixed-European descent. For the past 8 years, he has served as the e... 
The Vhavenda people are located on the North and West of Makhado in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The region they inhabit borders Zimbabwe and it is where... 
