Marico River Catchment and Mmutlwa wa Noko

Tara Rokpa Centre is situated in the ‘Jewel of North West’ – the sensitive Groot Marico River Catchment, a vital source of water to South Africa. The locally based voluntary association Mmutlwa wa Noko (porcupine quill in Setswana) puts in an extreme effort to protect and preserve the Groot Marico River and catchment.

Mmutlwa wa Noko was founded in 2010 and  since then has spearheaded  the opposition to prospecting and mining right applications within the catchment, including mining rights applications brought by Samrec and Sanral and prospecting rights applications, first from African Nickel, then Bataung Mining and now from De Beers for kimberlite.

Mmutlwa wa Noko has:

• Formulated strategies
• Provided thousands of hours of legal work.
• Driven thousands of kms to:
  • Facilitate, organise and attend meetings and site visits with communities, conservation associations and the media, including important journalists.
  • Establish ties and inform and consult with traditional communities, their Kgosis and community leaders to ensure they have a voice in decision making processes.
• Consulted with experts in various environmental fields.
• Funded the work and does not earn a cent (is now receiving assistance to cover expenses by means of donations)
• The association has been highly successful, and to date no application it has opposed has been approved or finalised.

The association’s work has also included being co-opted onto the steering committees of the National River Classification Project and Groot Marico Wastewater treatment plant.

Please support Mmutlwa wa Noko’s efforts and for updates on De Beers in Groot Marico by liking their FB page:  Mmutlwa wa Noko and see their website: www.mwnoko.co.za

If you are able to assist please donate to their account at the SA Post Office:

Account name: Mmutlwa wa Noko
Postbank Account number: 00099965638
Internet banking branch code: 460005