The Curse of Titanium – The Amadiba Crisis Committee and Community Struggles in the Eastern Cape

The Curse of Titanium – The Amadiba Crisis Committee and Community Struggles in the Eastern Cape

Centre for Civil Society – Special Webinar Series

The Resource Curse Our Seminar Series continues online for 2021 – please join us for webinar discussions on the theme of the Resource Curse. 

The ‘resource curse’ or ‘paradox of plenty’ refers to the failure of resource rich countries benefiting from their natural resource wealth. This is especially relevant in contexts where there are lower rates of economic growth and stability and where income from natural resources impacts on development initiatives. This series considers these questions through an engagement with activists and academics across the spectrum of debates on the political economy of extractive resources.

Facilitators: Andries Motau & Danford Chibvongodze

The UKZN Centre for Civil Society is inviting you to a Zoom Session of the CCS Webinar Series

Please note changing times to accommodate speakers from international time zones

Webinar: The Curse of Titanium – The Amadiba Crisis Committee and Community Struggles in the Eastern Cape

Speaker: Nonhle Mbuthuma

Date & Time: Wednesday 28 July 2021, 16:00-17:00 SA TimeRegister in advance for this meeting:https://ukzn.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIpdeuhrzkpHdFWVBankxc0TdAfL4XshWGnAfter registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Topic

This webinar will focus on the community struggles that started in early 1996 against an Australian mining company Mineral Commodities Mineral Ltd (MRC) which discovered titanium along the Amadiba coast in the Eastern Cape. These struggles resulted in the birth of the Amadiba Crisis Committee which was formed in 2007 to fight for land and environmental rights of the people of Xholobeni. What has emerged is the importance of community rights to information and community agency with regards extractive industries seeking operation on indigenous lands. The webinar will discuss the Amadiba Crisis Committee responses and tactics including the court cases brought against the Department of Mineral Resources in 2018.

Speaker Bio

Nonhle Mbuthuma is an activist and farmer who fights for land and environmental rights in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. In 2007 Nonhle founded the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC) to unite community members in five villages of the Amadiba Tribal Authority region to work together in opposition to destructive mining projects. She is now the most visible leader of the campaign against the Australian corporation Mineral Commodities Mineral Ltd (MRC).A crucial link between the indigenous community and the ACC’s legal team, Nonhle also engages the community in farming and food security workshops and has launched such projects in local schools.