Judgment has been reserved in the latest battle in a decade-long legal war to prevent a large underground coal mine from being established in the heart of the Mabola Protected Environment near Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga.
Another half-dozen legal challenges to other aspects of the mine are yet to be adjudicated by the courts. In 2016, the then ministers of these two portfolios, Edna Molewa and Mosebenzi Zwane, respectively, tried to quietly slip through approval for the Yzermyn project. The Mpumalanga provincial government was drawn into the fray by MEC for Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs Vusi Shongwe, who flip-flopped several times before in January 2021, finally revoking the protected area status of the properties within the Mabola Protected Environment owned by Uthaka.SA coal heartland is ill-prepared for energy transition
The would-be mining company again tried to engage the Constitutional Court with an application for leave to appeal this interdict order, but on 4 November 2021, the court again dismissed its application.In April, the coalition brought a review application to the Mbombela High Court, challenging Shongwe’s decision to revoke the protected status of Uthaka’s properties within the boundaries of the Mabola Protected Environment.
“The decision disregards the reasons why this Protected Environment was declared … undermines South Africa’s existing protected area network, and makes a mockery of South Africa’s dedicated efforts at protected area expansion.”
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