Desperate communities around Medupi power station left choking on pollution, remain disconnected from grid

The report, titled Living in Medupi’s Shadow, documents the lack of meaningful consultation and access to information on Medupi’s foreseeable impacts, the strain on local infrastructure and service delivery, the environmental and health impacts, the gendered social consequences, and the unequal distribution of opportunities. 

It is important to note, however, that although the report details multiple claims of the detrimental impact of Medupi on the environment and health of the surrounding communities, the researchers “did not conduct any studies to determine any causal link between those impacts and Medupi. Consequently, this report does not make any scientific findings.”

Moreover, no causal conclusions are made in the report regarding the impacts of the financing towards the construction, operation and overall development of Medupi, the authors note. Rather, they explain, the report “gives a voice to the lived experiences of communities living in proximity to Medupi by detailing their understanding of the ways in which their lives have changed since the advent of Medupi.”

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Living in Medupi's Shadow is based on interviews with interviewees who had all lived in the area surrounding the power station for varying amounts of time. They described a litany of problems, including:

• Increased air pollution, which has led to respiratory problems.


• Water management and access issues, which have made it difficult to access safe drinking water.


• Traffic and failure to upgrade the road infrastructure despite increasing heavy-duty vehicle traffic has made the roads much more dangerous for those using them.


• Local infrastructure is strained and has never been upgraded — or even constructed where it still does not exist — to accommodate the influx of contractors and job seekers drawn by the promises made about an economic boom flowing from Medupi.


• The report also found that the impacts of Medupi have been disproportionately felt by women and children. Women are more likely to be exposed to air pollution and water contamination, and they are also more likely to be responsible for caring for sick family members. Children are also more vulnerable to the negative health impacts of air pollution.


• Perhaps most shocking, residents of communities near the power station still do not have access to electricity. The report notes that a sports field in Marapong was built with six large floodlights to ensure safety and provide the community with an extracurricular outlet. The floodlights have however never been connected to the electricity grid.