Dear Hon. Marais,

Hon. Minister Lynne Brown has been lied to by Alexkor's management. Alexkor's own EMPR expressly forbids the building of seawalls in the manner currently being used extensively along Namaqualand's pristine coastline and which is causing an environmental disaster that is destroying the livelihoods of the local diamond divers and fisherman.

The EMPR that was done by the CSIR on behalf of Alexkor in 1994 expressly prohibits the use of gravel, cobbles and boulders because of the permanent damage this causes.

The Hon. Minister is being misled into condoning an illegal mining practice that will ultimately result in Alexkor facing damages claims in the hundreds of millions of rand and criminal liability.

The local communities of Namaqualand and Richtersveld are no longer prepared to tolerate the oppressive disdain and mindless exploitation that we have been subjected to by outsiders for decades.

Monopoly mining is like a plague of locusts that consumes our natural resources, leaves behind environmental devastation and treats Namaqualand like a backward enclave.

What must we do to be treated like a part of this country where the laws Parliament creates also apply?