OPEN LETTER FROM ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS TO PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA ON THE SOUTH AFRICA INVESTMENT CONFERENCE, 5 – 7 NOVEMBER 2019

An open letter from a coalition of environmental activists to President Cyril Ramaphosa urging that the South Africa Investment Conference (5–7 November 2019) prioritize responsible investment over the exploitation of natural resources, specifically opposing the weakening of water use regulations to attract business.

• Environmental activists argue that investments in fossil fuels, coal mining, and coal infrastructure negatively impact water resources and offer little benefit, including jobs, to host communities, who may be worse off due to extractive industries.
• The authors express concern over statements from the October 2019 Presidential Working Committee on the Jobs Summit suggesting that water use licence conditions for businesses would be made less costly and onerous, with shortened issuance deadlines of 60 days for agriculture, 80 to 95 days for state-owned enterprises and municipalities, and 120 days for mining.
• A report by the Centre for Environmental Rights highlighted regulatory failures in Mpumalanga, where coal mining companies failed to comply with water use licence conditions and the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation failed in monitoring and enforcement, leading to massive pollution of the Upper Olifants Catchment.
• The activists call for a commitment to only 'responsible investments' that include proper due diligence on environmental, social, and corporate governance impacts. They argue that investments in coal are economically and environmentally irrational given the rapid price decrease of renewable energy technologies.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2019). OPEN LETTER FROM ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS TO PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA ON THE SOUTH AFRICA INVESTMENT CONFERENCE, 5 – 7 NOVEMBER 2019. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Open-Letter-to-President-Ramaphosa-4-November-2019-002.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. OPEN LETTER FROM ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS TO PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA ON THE SOUTH AFRICA INVESTMENT CONFERENCE, 5 – 7 NOVEMBER 2019. 2019. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Open-Letter-to-President-Ramaphosa-4-November-2019-002.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=OPEN LETTER FROM ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS TO PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA ON THE SOUTH AFRICA INVESTMENT CONFERENCE, 5 – 7 NOVEMBER 2019 |date=4 November 2019 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Open-Letter-to-President-Ramaphosa-4-November-2019-002.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2019open, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{OPEN LETTER FROM ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS TO PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA ON THE SOUTH AFRICA INVESTMENT CONFERENCE, 5 – 7 NOVEMBER 2019}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2019}, month = nov, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Open-Letter-to-President-Ramaphosa-4-November-2019-002.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }