MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

“The Hellhole that is Markman”

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This is how Carte Blanche presenter, Derek Watts describes the industrial ‘suburb’ of Markman in Gqeberha. Markman is home to a vast Manganese Depot – the final ‘resting place’ of Manganese Ore before it makes its way to the Port of Port Elizabeth on trucks that leave the depot every minute, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365.25 days a year.

It must be said that the Port Manganese Ore DUMP is in far better condition than Markman but still unsightly and still a source of major pollution.

A city with some ‘dangly bits’ could soon make the beneficiaries of this billions of rand industry wake up simply by applying some rigorous traffic control measures outside the entrances to the Port of Port Elizabeth. A weighbridge in Strand Street and major road block will also be able to keep an eye on other transport operators in the area – two birds with one stone Mrs Executive Mayor!

Some of the people with a vested interest in with keeping the delivery of Manganese Ore going in the Port of Port Elizabeth: Desmond Sacco, Patrice Motsepe, Cyril Ramaphosa, Max Sisulu and TNPA.

For years MyPE and now MyGqeberha have kept track of the unbelievable mess that these trucks leave on our roads that are slowly being crushed into oblivion by these monster trucks.

Feel free to share your views (positive, negative or neutral) on the continued methods of Manganese Ore delivery via our Manganese Ore Survey here.

Manganese is a neuro-toxin and long term exposure to Manganese Dust or fumes can cause permanent brain damage. That would explain why the Port Manager always used to tell me; “Alan, Manganese Ore is not the problem!” and it was only a little while later that the penny dropped and I was able to reply; “You are right – the Manganese Ore DUST is the problem!”

Connect the dots: Patrice Motsepe –> Brother in Law to President Cyril Ramaphosa –> Rainbow Minerals –> Manganese Ore –> Port of Port Elizabeth –> Manganese Ore being shipped out of Port Elizabeth during lockdown.

The Manganese Ore Dust problem is NOT NEW as this report from the Evening Post dated 16 May 1990 shows: Manganese Ore – The 30 Plus Year Lie Continues

See the report from Carte Blanche below:

YouTube video player

Toxic black manganese dust, blasted from the iconic Kalahari Basin and trucked in vast amounts to the Gqebertha Port, it’s a poison hidden in plain sight. This is a story of dividends, dust, and disease. South Africa is the world’s largest exporter of manganese, an abundant trace mineral found in the Northern Cape. It is a key component in paints, glass, dry-cell batteries, and steel. But exposure to high levels of manganese can cause serious health problems and environmental damage. From Hotazel to Gqeberha, we follow hundreds of trucks that travel up and down the Manganese Road and explore the research of the miners with Parkinsonian symptoms. We also meet a mine contractor who’s been diagnosed with Manganism. Down in the Eastern Cape, as the trucks come rumbling into town, smothering it in a layer of soot, locals are asking whether the growing manganese rush is making Nelson Mandela Bay and its people sick. Carte Blanche unpacks another possible case of profits before people and asks: why is everyone from politicians to models jumping on the manganese bandwagon?

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.