The FF Plus shares, for various reasons, the concerns of interest groups about the planned Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) in the Vhembe District of Limpopo.
Therefore, the FF Plus is demanding that the national and provincial government of Limpopo must immediately call halt to the project and engage in talks with the respective interest groups and residents.
The MMSEZ is planned in the dry Limpopo basin, which poses a threat to agriculture, water security, tourism, the environment and the area's cultural and fossil heritage.
Limpopo's Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism and its development division, the Limpopo Development Agency, are managing the development.
The FF Plus believes that the environmental impact study, which gave the green light for the development, is inadequate as it did not take into account the damage that it will do to the environment and the people.
Thousands of baobab trees will have to be relocated to make space for the development. Baobab trees are only found in the northern part of South Africa, mostly between the Limpopo River and Soutpansberg.
The development will also pose a threat to the Mapungubwe landscape, which was declared a UNESCO world heritage site on 3 July 2003.
The FF Plus does not oppose economic development, but a balance must be struck by weighing it up against the damage it will cause to the natural environment and the current climate crisis.
The FF Plus proposes that the project must be taken back to the drawing board to identify more suitable areas for establishing economic zones in Limpopo.
At present, this seems to be a development project headed by certain politicians and China with no regard for local realities.
The FF Plus will do everything in its power, both in Parliament and by means of its structures in Limpopo, to stop the planned development of the zone.
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