Extracts and Comments | Discussions
Comments on proposed Swaziland Greenstone Quarry in Malolotja
by Chuck Staresinic
I am writing to express my complete opposition to the proposed Swaziland Greenstone Quarry in Malalotja Nature Reserve.
I am quite puzzled by the fact that this mining activity was ever given legitimate consideration. I was under the impression that the legislation that created Malalotja precluded any unnecessary development that would bring harm to the reserves's natural resources. Richard Boycott's response to the proposal and the Environmental Impact Assessment make it abundantly clear that the proposed mine would do irrevocable damage to those natural resources.
Swaziland is a shining example to the rest of Africa - an example of how to adopt the best of what the twentieth century offers, while retaining the vitality of your proud culture and national heritage. I urge the nation of Swaziland to continue on this wise and exemplary path - do not sacrifice the irreplaceable natural beauty and resources of Malalotja to a foreign mining company which will exploit the resource, grow rich, and leave a polluted and unprofitable land behind. These are not the sort of decisions which have made Swaziland a great nation.
I know that I speak for many Swazis and travellers all over the world who have been fortunate enough to experience Malalotja's beauty, when I say that Swaziland will be a much poorer nation with this quarry in the heart of Malalotja Nature Reserve. Many of my fellow Americans and I have wondered, "Would we ever want to return to Swaziland, or plan a vacation there, if Malalotja Nature Reserve is so irrevocably changed for the worse by mining activity?"
Chuck Staresinic
1712 Wightman St.
Pittsburgh,
PA 15217-1522
USA
cstaresinic@hotmail.com