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dam-l Swazi Dam graves
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Over 20 more graves to be exhumed for Maguga Dam
August 20, 1998
PIGGS PEAK, Swaziland - Over 20 more ancestral graves will have to be
exhumed near Piggs Peak in Swaziland, when
the wall of the R343-million Maguga Dam is built, said senior civil
engineer at the Komati Basin Water Authority, Mirco
Ristice, on Thursday.
About 20 graves have already been exhumed in the Ekwakheni and Mahlabeni
areas and relocated to allow the
construction of roads to the dam site. Ristice said an additional 20 or so
graves would be exhumed in the year 2 000
when the dam wall was erected, and that the bones would be relocated for
reburial so the area could be flooded.
"Fortunately, there are no houses close to the construction area, it is
only the graves, and the communities are aware of
the exhumation plans because 15 to 20 graves have already been exhumed and
relocated for roads to be built," Ristice
explained. He said although the exhumations disturbed communities' cultural
and spiritual beliefs, the project's
co-ordinating unit in Swaziland had successfully negotiated the need for
reburial with community representatives over the
past two years.
"These negotiations clearly show that we do not want to ruin people's
lives," said Ristice. The Maguga Dam is a
bi-national project involving South Africa and Swaziland funded by a loans
from the Development Bank of South Africa, the
Swaziland Public Services Pension Fund and direct contributions from the
two governments.
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Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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