Two protesters held plackards at the Paradise Motors Shell service station on the M3. They were opposing Shell's seismic surveys along the Wild Coast. Picture/ Tracey Adams/African News Agency (ANA).
The Shell service station boycotts will affect local owners more than the global organisation said, Steven Taylor. According to the community activist, because the Shell service stations are owned by individuals, they are the ones who will be affected the most.
“Shell itself is not going to be affected that much because they are a global company, whereas service stations employ people on the local community level. The owners themselves are mostly South African. This will affect our own people more,” said Taylor.
When the Dutch energy giant announced that they would be conducting a four-to-five-month geographic seismic survey off the coast of the country in search of oil and gas, the organisation was immediately met with opposition from South Africans and environmental watchdogs.
“These protests haven’t had the right outcome because Shell is still going ahead with what they planned. The Minister of Environmental Affairs, Barbara Creecy, should be lobbied, and this should be taken to parliament, and the proper channels need to be followed.”
Taylor said he believes that South Africans should make their voices heard for the greater good, but more needs to be known and understood about the seismic survey.
He said: “I’ve seen posts on Facebook of empty petrol stations. This will affect businesses and their revenues if the service stations don’t have customers, and that will ultimately be the case.”
In a press briefing on December 8, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe said South Africa deserves the opportunity to capitalise on its natural resources, including oil and gas, as these resources have been proven to be game-changers elsewhere.
“We consider the objections to these developments as apartheid and colonialism of a special type, masqueraded as a great interest in environmental protection,” said Mantashe.
Taylor said the Minister’s comments about the objections were uncalled for and totally unacceptable. He said he should not be saying such things.
“At the end of the day, we don’t understand that we’re affecting our own people more than the global Shell. In principle, what we’re trying to do is correct, but we also need to think about our own people as well,” said Taylor.
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