Following the recent plundering of our precious ocean resources by foreign fishing vessels and ongoing illegal sand mining on the Wild Coast, the DA is increasingly concerned about the unsustainable use of our natural resources in the Eastern Cape.
As we celebrate heritage day on the 24th of September, we are also concerned about the neglect of one of the Eastern Cape’s historic cultural heritage sites, the amaMpondo Cultural Heritage Landscape in the Wild Coast.
In a forward thinking province the government would take urgent action to protect our natural resources and heritage sites. We owe it to the generations to come.
Ongoing soil erosion, especially in the Eastern parts of our province, cannot be ignored. We have to protect our soil at all costs.
I have written to the MEC for Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Sakhumzi Somyo requesting a detailed presentation relating to the current use of our natural resources from his department and what control measures are in place.
The Heritage Monitoring Project recently released a list of the most endangered cultural heritage sites in the country. This list includes the amaMpondo Cultural Heritage Landscape in the Wild Coast.
We urge the MEC for Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Pemmy Majodina and her department to ensure that the Eastern Cape Provincial Heritage Resources Authority (ECPHRA) performs its duties in order to conserve the numerous heritage sites in the Eastern Cape.
I will be writing to MEC Majodina to enquire about the steps that her department will take to ensure that the preservation of our endangered heritage site is prioritized.
The abuse and neglect of our precious natural resources and our historic heritage site cannot continue, we request that MEC’s Majodina and Somyo’s departments treat these issues with the urgency they deserve. – Ross Purdon MPL, Shadow MEC for Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture & Shadow MEC for Economic Affairs, Environment and Tourism
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