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sanews - 1 days ago

Government to release report into Jagersfontein Storage Facility failure 

Government to release report into Jagersfontein Storage Facility failure The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, will release a report into the Jagersfontein Tailings Storage Facility failure to the public in due course.

Briefing the media on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said that Cabinet has been briefed on the findings of the technical investigation into the failure which caused devastation to the town of Jagersfontein in the Free State.

“The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Ms Pemmy Majodina, will release the report to the public. Cabinet is pleased that criminal proceedings have commenced with the accused having appeared in the Jagersfointein Magistrate’s court on 11 September 2025,” said Ntshavheni.

In September, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), in collaboration with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), confirmed that criminal proceedings were set to commence following the 2022 tragic collapse of the facility.

The incident claimed the lives of two people.

READ | Prosecution to commence over Jagersfontein tailings dam failure

Meanwhile, Cabinet has also received an update on the developments in South Africa’s oil and gas sector.

Minister Ntshavheni said the country is making great strides towards leveraging gas resources for both power generation and fuel-related purposes and that shale formations in the Karoo Basin are estimated to hold as much as 200 trillion cubic feet of gas resources.

“The country seeks to accelerate exploration in both on- and offshore markets to unlock the full potential of its oil and gas resources,” Ntshavheni said.

Ntshavheni explained that the ongoing exploration and production include the Virginia Gas Project in the Free State, the Amersfoort and Volksrust Gas Project in Mpumalanga, and the Lephalale Coal Bed Methane Project in Limpopo.

“These projects hold substantial natural gas and helium resources. The Minister of Fisheries, Forestry, and Environment has finalised the Shale Gas Regulations and they will be gazetted before [the] end October 2025.

“These Regulations will provide a regulatory framework to control the environmental and safety risks associated with fracking,” the Minister said.

On the international front, Cabinet condemned the continued conflict in Sudan that has resulted in the killing of estimated 60 civilians of which 17 were children by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 9 October 2025 in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur in Sudan.

“Cabinet has noted with concern that to date, thousands of civilians remain trapped by the siege of El Fasher which has become the epicentre of indiscriminate attacks by the RSF which is worsening the already dire humanitarian crisis.”

Cabinet welcomed the strengthening of cooperation in the areas of security, intelligence and the formation of a joint economic committee between South Sudan and Sudan.

“Cabinet regards this strengthening of relations as critical for the improvement in regional stability and security,” the Minister said. – SAnews.gov.za
Edwin Thu, 10/16/2025 - 12:06 183 views


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