Residents Not Against the Project – But Demand Clarity on Water and Existing Jobs.
CCN Editor – George April
Hopefield:- Many concerned residents in and around Hopefield say they are not opposed to the Phelan Green Group’s R12 billion green hydrogen and eSAF project in principle.
What they want is clear, honest answers: especially about the impact on the more than 500 local people who currently earn their living on farms and related businesses that depend on the area’s limited water resources.
The company has announced a final investment decision and speaks of around 500 permanent jobs once the plant is operating. Residents and farm workers, however, are asking a simple question that has still not been answered in public:
What happens to the 500+ existing jobs on local farms and agri-businesses that rely on the same scarce water supply the project will need (2 megalitres per day for Phase 1 alone)?
“People are not against development,” one long-time resident told CCN. “But you can’t promise new jobs while ignoring the people who already work here and depend on the water. We need to know if those jobs will still exist.”
The project still requires key licences, environmental authorisation from the Western Cape DEA&DP, a water-use licence from the Department of Water and Sanitation, and an atmospheric emissions licence from the West Coast District Municipality. Construction is targeted for early 2027.
Despite the final investment decision and the project’s inclusion in the national Green Hydrogen Deal Book under Minister of Electricity and Energy Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, no open community meeting has been held in Hopefield by the company or the relevant government departments to address these specific concerns.
Key decision-makers who have yet to engage the community face-to-face include:
Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa: Minister of Electricity and Energy
David Maynier: Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
Pemmy Majodina: Minister of Water and Sanitation
Officials from the Western Cape DEA&DP, West Coast District Municipality and Saldanha Bay Municipality.
The company has said it plans to open a Hopefield office by early October and remains committed to stakeholder engagement. Residents say that is welcome, but not enough. They want public meetings in the town itself, independent water studies, and a clear explanation of how the claimed 500 new jobs will relate to the 500+ existing livelihoods that already depend on the local water system.
Until those answers are given openly and in plain language, many in Hopefield will continue to ask: development is fine, but at whose expense?
CCN has sent media inquiries to the ministers, the company and the relevant municipalities. Their responses will be published when received.