Court Says Rights Given to Shell ‘Unlawful’ #AfricaClimateHope

The Eastern Cape High Court has ruled that the exploration rights granted to Impact Africa and Shell that would allow them to do a seismic survey along South Africa’s Eastern Cape coast are unlawful.

The judgment outlines a number of reasons for the ruling including the fact that local communities whose cultural and subsistence fishing rights would be affected were not consulted in any meaningful way.

It also has significant criticism for the Department of Minerals and Energy under minister Gwede Mantashe and makes mention of the implications of the proposed seismic survey for both environmental harm and climate change.