The province is being urged to prepare to think green as its over-reliance on coal mining impacts the environment which in turn threatens life.
Mpumalanga is being urged to act in order to safeguard agricultural land as mining activities continue to pose a serious threat to the environment.
The province is currently moving from a coal dependent economy to a low-carbon economy.
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Mpumalanga mines 80% of South Africa’s coal and is home to the country’s the majority of Eskom’s coal-fired power stations.
A research by Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) found that the threats posed by mining activities to agricultural land was real and that actions should be taken to safeguard the agricultural land.
Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies said there was a huge gap between the salaries of mine-workers and farm-workers, therefore more and more people need to enter the space and be farmers.
This is in line with the Mpumalanga provincial government’s Green Economy Development Plan.
Nkosinathi Nkonyane , from the provincial department of economic development, said the province is ready to do away with mining and think green.
He said a large number of experts are currently working with government in order to give birth to a “green economy”.
(edited by MLM)
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