Port Elizabethans are being taken for a furry feline…
The report from the Evening Post dated 16 May 1990 above refers.
The bottom line here is: “The authorities were lying then and they are lying now. They have had nearly 40 years to make the citizens of Port Elizabeth comfortable and happy with the Manganese Ore Dust facility but have continued trotting out the same platitudes and lies with every successive regime and political change ever since.”
Read the article and you could, by changing names, be hearing EXACTLY every single lie that has been told to every single Port Elizabethan every single year for nigh on 40 years now.
How DUMB are we to believe any of the codswallop that spews from the mouths of people supposedly concerned about the health and welfare of our populace?
At the 1990 meeting then ABYC Commodore Ian Littlejohn was quoted as saying that Port Elizabeth residents should not have to put up with the dirt from the manganese ore dump in the harbour, even although pollution levels were said to be acceptable.
The Deputy Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs, Dr Piet Wlegemoed, harbour authorities and city officials were all present at the meeting.
One wonders what the national imperative was for the Manganese ore facility to stay in the harbour then – the cynic in most of us will wonder what personal economic imperative was in the official representatives for the lying and skullduggery that is now apparent.
According the then harbour engineer, Mr Sidney Chait, the ore berth would not be relocated in the short term but the intention was for it to not stay in the harbour forever.
At the time it was said by the harbour authorities that the ore dump contributed only 10% of the harbour’s annual turnover and that mass unemployment would ensue if the ore dump was moved.
In the 2000’s various observers have put the UNVERIFIED turnover from the Manganese ore at approaching R2 Million per day. A recent upgrade to the Manganese Ore delivery facility carried a penalty clause of over R1.5 Million per day should the contractors have exceeded the time span allocated. This amount did not include the high grade manganese ore berthing facilities.
At the 1990 meeting the assistant chief town planner, Mr John Mercer said that the area would be given over to the development of tourist-orientated industries. Once again the whole city believed these plans to their detriment.
Despite their misgivings the Algoa Bay Yacht Club continued with their plans and hosting of high profile national and international regattas. And now the thorn in the side of the authorities has been evicted from the harbour area allowing the manganese ore dust to continue polluting the wider area.
Connect the dots: Patrice Motsepe –> Brother in Law to President –> Rainbow Minerals –> Manganese Ore –> Port of Port Elizabeth –> Manganese Ore being shipped out of Port Elizabeth during lockdown.
Manganese Ore Must Go
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Alan Straton
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