The Mpumalanga Highveld Air Pollution Crisis: A South African Reparations Framework for Environmental State–Corporate Harm

Abstract

The Highveld region in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province has a dense concentration of coal mines and coal-fired power stations. As a result, the area experiences severe levels of air pollution. Despite the government's obligation, little has been done to remedy the harm experienced by the environment and people in the Highveld. The complexity of the relationship between the state and corporations contributes to the government's reluctance to hold mining companies accountable. Obtaining remedies through courts has also yielded limited success. We, therefore, make a case for the creation of African environmental reparations and submit that the Mpumalanga Highveld region evidences the need for such reparations. African environmental reparations must be guided by the principles of Ubuntu, bolstered by the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, and employ restorative justice. Only in this way can air pollution be properly acknowledged as a multifarious harm, and the balance, harmony and unity between people and the environment repaired.