CAPE TOWN — The government’s decision on whether or not to proceed with the extraction of shale gas in the Karoo through hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) would be credible only if the African National Congress (ANC) derived no indirect benefit from it, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said yesterday.
The DA claimed the ruling party stood to earn a “fortune” from fracking through the donations it received from the Batho Batho Trust, of which it is the sole beneficiary. The linkages between the ANC and Batho Batho meant that the government, as the regulator, could be compromised in performing its tasks as it could be both player and referee.
Batho Batho has a 51% stake in Thebe Investments, Shell SA’s empowerment partner, and thus has an effective 12% stake in Shell SA Refining and 14% in Shell SA Marketing, DA deputy energy spokesman David Ross said yesterday.
“Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe recently indicated that Chancellor House — the ANC’s investment arm — should divest its shares in companies that gain from government tenders. In the same spirit, the Batho Batho Trust should withdraw its investment from Thebe,” Mr Ross said.
He said if SA was to benefit from its gas reserves “in a manner that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable, it is necessary that the overseer does not stand to benefit”. “Only then can South Africans have faith that – if the moratorium is lifted – shale gas will be exploited in a responsible manner,” he added.
But government spokesman Jimmy Manyi described the allegations as “very wishy-washy” and unsubstantiated speculation. The government had nothing to do with Batho Batho’s donations to the ANC, he said, adding: “This is all so far-fetched it is not funny.”
Mr Ross, however, stressed the need for all conflicts of interests to be dispensed with if the risks associated with fracking, such as the contamination of fresh ground water, were to be managed appropriately. Regulatory oversight would be critical.
“The political relationship between Shell and Thebe Investments has already made a mockery of the due diligence process to be followed in ascertaining to whom the Petroleum Agency of SA should grant fracking exploration rights,” Mr Ross claimed.
Batho Batho Trust chairman Kenny Fihla was recently reported in a Sunday newspaper as saying that the trust’s donations to the ANC were in line with its specific transformation agenda. “We make no bones about the fact that we donate to the ANC — precisely because the trust was established by the president of the ANC at the time ( Nelson Mandela),” Mr Fihla said.
ANC politician Chris Nissen — the spokesman for the Karoo Shale Gas Community Forum — has also been active in mobilising support for fracking in the Karoo.
ensorl@bdfm.co.za
Click here to Book Accommodation in Cradock, Graaf Reinett, Hofmeyer or surrounds.
Article source: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=169312