The DA in Limpopo supports the call by key stakeholders for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to intervene in the Limpopo Provincial Government’s failure to adopt the Vhembe Bio-Regional Zonation Plan.
The deliberate suppression of this plan is a clear attempt to push ahead with the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) project- an environmentally destructive initiative that promotes have, polluting industries under foreign ownership, driven by fossil fuels.
There are troubling reports of political interference within the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment, and Tourism (LEDET), with crucial elements of the plan allegedly being altered or delayed.
The Vhembe Biosphere Reserve (VBR) was officially recognized by both South Africa and UNESCO in 2009. Biosphere Reserves are designed to balance environmental conservation with sustainable development. South Africa actively participates in UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserve (“Man and the Biosphere”) programme, with several biospheres established across the country.
The VBR encompasses Northern Kruger National Park, Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Site, Soutpansberg and Blouberg mountain ranges; and the
Makgabeng Plateau. This bioregion is recognized for its unique biodiversity and cultural heritage and is a crucial area for conservation.
However, Biosphere Reserves need Bio-Regional Plans. Without a Bio-Regional Plan, biosphere reserves lose protection and become vulnerable to unregulated exploitation. Bio-Regional Plans ensure that land-use decisions align with conservation objectives while still allowing for sustainable development.
The failure to adopt the Vhembe Bio-Regional Plan is leaving the region unprotected and opening the door to unchecked industrial expansion, particularly through the MMSEZ project.
The Vhembe Bio-Regional Plan was signed off by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and published for public comment by the Limpopo MEC for Economic Development, Environment, and Tourism in 2019. Since then—nothing. Five years have passed, and the plan remains unfinalized and unadopted.
Meanwhile, major environmental and development decisions related to the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) have been or are in the process of being taken—without the guidance of a Bio-Regional Plan.
As the DA in the Limpopo legislature, we have already submitted our grave concerns and questions to the MEC of LEDET regarding this unjustified delay.
The DA believes in constitutionalism and the rule of law. We will not remain silent while the ANC-led provincial government wilfully and cynically circumvents legal processes—as they have in this case. Economic growth and job creation are top priorities for the DA and the GNU—but not at all costs. The MMSEZ, in its current form, is an unsustainable, command-driven, and environmentally disastrous project.
We believe that there is a better alternative – that Vhembe District’s path to sustainable economic growth and development and job creation lies in a collaborative, inclusive, and locally driven approach—one where government and stakeholders from all sectors work together for the greater good; where economic growth does not come at the cost of environmental and cultural destruction ; and where region’s biodiversity, heritage, and resources are preserved for future generations.
The DA will continue to fight for responsible, lawful, and sustainable development —where we all prosper and retain our environmental and cultural heritage forever.