South Africa: Activists Celebrate Big Win for Wild Coast Against Mantashe and Shell

Joseph Chirume/GroundUp
Representatives of civic organisations and local communities picketed on Monday outside the Port Elizabeth High Court where the case to have Shell’s seismic survey rights set aside is being heard (file photo).
1 September 2022
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
analysis By Tembile Sgqolana

The Makhanda High Court has set aside a decision by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to grant an exploration right to Shell to conduct seismic surveys off the Wild Coast.

Environmental activists around the country are celebrating a huge victory after a full bench of judges at the Makhanda High Court on Thursday set aside the 2014 decision by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to grant an exploration right to Shell to search for oil and gas off the ecologically sensitive Wild Coast.

The case to stop the process was brought by Sustaining the Wild Coast NPC, local communities and small-scale fishers and All Rise, Attorneys for Climate and the Environment NPC, represented by the Legal Resources Centre and Richard Spoor Attorneys.

Natural Justice and Greenpeace Africa applied to join the court case and were represented by environmental law firm Cullinan and Associates.

In the judgment signed by Deputy Judge President Zamani Nhlangulela and Judge Thandi Norman, Judge President Selby Mbenenge said the court was satisfied that the review grounds met the threshold.

Exploration right is 'wrong in law'

"It is demonstrably clear that the decisions were not preceded by a fair procedure," he said....

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