Case Decision - 354936

Final Comment

The following comments are made as a requirement in terms of section 3(4) of the NEMA Regulations and section 38(8) of the NHRA in the format provided in section 38(4) of the NHRA and must be included in the Final EIA and EMPr:

• 38(4)a – The SAHRA Development Application Unit (DAU) has no objections to the proposed development.
• 38(4)b – The recommendations provided by the heritage specialists are supported and must be adhered to. These further additional comments apply:
• A 20m buffer zone must be maintained for homestead/farm stead (Site 002 and Site 005).  If the sites are to be impacted on by the proposed development project, a destruction or alteration permit from the North West Provincial Heritage Resources Authority (NWPHRA) must be applied for.
• A 30m buffer zone must be demarcated by a fence around the grave sites (006a & 006b). The fence must have an entrance gate to allow for access and visitation by the grave sites.
• If it is not possible to avoid the burial sites, a stakeholder engagement process must be undertaken in terms of section 36 of the NHRA and Chapter XI of the NHRA 2000 Regulations, to obtain permission to fence / relocate the graves;
• Should relocation of the graves be found feasible an archaeologist must be appointed to apply to SAHRA for a section 36 permit application in terms of chapter IX of the NHRA 2000 Regulations for the relocation of graves older than 60 years;
• The monitoring plan must be completed and submitted to SAHRA.
• The monitoring report must be submitted to this case at the end of the construction of the proposed project.
• 38(4)c(i) – If any evidence of archaeological sites or remains (e.g. remnants of stone-made structures, indigenous ceramics, bones, stone artefacts, ostrich eggshell fragments, charcoal and ash concentrations), fossils or other categories of heritage resources are found during the proposed development, SAHRA DAU (Nokusho Ngobeni/Natasha Higgitt 021 202 8660) must be alerted as per section 35(3) of the NHRA. Non-compliance with this section of the NHRA is an offence in terms of section 51(1)e of the NHRA and item 5 of the Schedule;
• 38(4)c(ii) – If unmarked human burials are uncovered, the SAHRA DAU (Nokusho Ngobeni/Natasha Higgitt 021 202 8660), must be alerted immediately as per section 36(6) of the NHRA. Non-compliance with this section of the NHRA is an offence in terms of section 51(1)e of the NHRA and item 5 of the Schedule;
• 38(4)d – See section 51(1) of the NHRA;
• 38(4)e – The following conditions apply with regards to the appointment of specialists:
• i) If heritage resources are uncovered during the course of the development, a professional archaeologist or palaeontologist, depending on the nature of the finds, must be contracted as soon as possible to inspect the heritage resource. If the newly discovered heritage resources prove to be of archaeological or palaeontological significance, a Phase 2 rescue operation may be required subject to permits issued by SAHRA;
• The Final EIA and EMPr must be submitted to SAHRA for record purposes; 
• The decision regarding the EA Application must be communicated to SAHRA and uploaded to the SAHRIS Case application.