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Cape Town - Plans by energy companies to prospect for shale
gas in the Karoo are flawed, anti-fracking lobbyists Treasure Karoo Action
Group (TKAG) said on Monday.
"Our research, as well as a legal-scientific review of
the environmental management plans of the three current applicants... has
revealed fatal flaws," the group said in a statement released at a media
briefing in Cape Town.
The briefing comes three days after the government's
decision to lift a moratorium on exploring for shale gas in the Karoo, using
the controversial method of hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking.
Among the companies that have made application is oil giant
Royal Dutch Shell.
TKAG said the flaws "mean that the plans of the
applicants are at odds with various South African laws and regulations, as well
as the Constitution of the country".
The group again vowed to take its fight against fracking to
the Constitutional Court.
TKAG chairperson Jonathan Deal said support, both locally
and internationally, for his organisation's opposition to fracking had been
pouring in.
"The support we have received locally and
internationally since the government lifted the moratorium on fracking... has
been overwhelming," he said.
It was clear there was "widespread abhorrence" to
fracking.
Deal said hydraulic fracturing had either been banned or restricted in 155 jurisdictions around the world.
