Iscor's pollution war
2001-02-22 23:14
Potchefstroom - A group of about 100 impoverished residents of smallholdings near Vanderbijlpark are currently engaged in litigation against Iscor, blaming the industrial giant for large-scale pollution in the area.
Current legal action, if successful, could cost the company millions of rands.
"This is an amount that Iscor can hardly afford, especially in the light of the R33 million it had to pay to the people's neighbours," an expert said on Thursday.
Iscor paid the settlement to hundreds of families who lived on smallholdings in Linkholm, Drakeville and Steelvalley shortly before a High Court judgment last year.
During the court case, Iscor's legal representative said that if the court decided in favour of the residents, the industry would have to close its doors. This would mean some 9 000 people would lose their jobs.
The new group, who call themselves the Louisrus Interest Group (LIG), last year approached the Centre for Community Rights and Development at the University of Potchefstroom because they could not afford the legal costs for an extensive court hearing. Iscor had also refused to negotiate with them.
Shortly after the first court appearance, Iscor drew an imaginary line through the area, and indicated that those people who remained, would not be bought out.
The inhabitants' boreholes were so polluted that until last week, they were still dependent on water which Iscor supplied with water-carts. Meanwhile, Iscor has suspended water supplies to 20 families because they were of the opinion that the new Emfuleno local authority was now responsible for this service.
Iscor is now claiming some R3 million for water supplied to the residents over the past four years.
The Centre for Community Rights and Development has meanwhile stopped all aid to the LIG because they saw the university's aid as a conflict of interest.
Iscor annually contributes millions of rands to the university. The industry has made a contribution of more than R1 million to the university's distance-learning centre, erected on the Vaal Triangle campus several years ago. A large part of the engineering building on the main campus was also sponsored by Iscor.