APPEAL TO THE APPEAL AUTHORITY, DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ENVIRONMENT AND TOURISM, LIMPOPO

This document is a formal appeal submitted by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) on behalf of four appellants—Earthlife Africa, groundWork, the Mining and Environmental Justice Community Network of South Africa, and Dzomo La Mupo—to the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) of the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET). The appeal seeks to set aside Environmental Authorisation (EA) No. 12/1/9/2-V79, granted on 23 February 2022 to the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (SOC) Ltd (MMSEZ). The EA allows for the site clearance of 3,863 hectares of indigenous vegetation and the development of bulk infrastructure in the Vhembe District of Limpopo. The appellants argue that the EA is unlawful due to procedural irregularities, a lack of authority by the decision-maker, failure to assess cumulative and climate impacts, and the disregard of cultural heritage and water scarcity issues.

• The appellants argue that LEDET lacked the legal authority to issue the EA because the project's transboundary water implications and impacts on international UNESCO and RAMSAR sites mandate that the Minister of the Department of Forestry, Fishery and Environment (DFFE) be the competent authority.
• A significant conflict of interest is alleged, as the decision-maker (LEDET) is the holding company and 100% owner of the Limpopo Economic Development Agency (LEDA), which in turn owns the applicant, MMSEZ (SOC) Ltd.
• The appeal claims the EIA process had legally expired before the EA was issued. The first Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP), Deltabec, submitted a Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) 289 days past the prescribed timeframe, and the decision-maker failed to reach a decision within the required 107 days.
• Public participation is described as fatally flawed, citing the use of password-protected documents, the exclusion of community members from meetings by armed guards, and the presentation of inflated employment figures (800,000 jobs) that contradicted the FEIR's own estimate of 53,800 jobs.
• The appellants contend that the EA is irrational because it ignores cumulative impacts, treating land clearance in isolation from the planned coal-fired power station and 14 heavy metal industries.
• The project is expected to have a 'VERY HIGH' climate change impact, potentially contributing between 10% and 24% of South Africa's carbon budget under various 2°C or 1.5°C targets, generating approximately 1 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent over its lifetime.
• The appeal highlights a failure to protect cultural heritage, specifically 'Zwifho' (sacred natural sites) and over 200 sacred burial grounds, noting that the EA only recognized 19 burial sites.
• Severe water scarcity is cited as a critical risk, with the project estimated to require 80 to 100 million m3/annum in a region where water is already fully allocated, potentially crippling the local agricultural economy.
• The EA is criticized for lacking specific, measurable, and auditable conditions, relying instead on a 'fatally flawed' Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) that was not updated after independent reviews identified major deficiencies.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2022). APPEAL TO THE APPEAL AUTHORITY, DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ENVIRONMENT AND TOURISM, LIMPOPO. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Annexure-A-ELA-gW-MEJCON-DLP-Appeal-to-MMSEZ-EA-28.03.2022.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. APPEAL TO THE APPEAL AUTHORITY, DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ENVIRONMENT AND TOURISM, LIMPOPO. 2022. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Annexure-A-ELA-gW-MEJCON-DLP-Appeal-to-MMSEZ-EA-28.03.2022.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=APPEAL TO THE APPEAL AUTHORITY, DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ENVIRONMENT AND TOURISM, LIMPOPO |date=28 March 2022 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Annexure-A-ELA-gW-MEJCON-DLP-Appeal-to-MMSEZ-EA-28.03.2022.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2022appeal, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{APPEAL TO THE APPEAL AUTHORITY, DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ENVIRONMENT AND TOURISM, LIMPOPO}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Annexure-A-ELA-gW-MEJCON-DLP-Appeal-to-MMSEZ-EA-28.03.2022.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }