Concerns of landowners within the Vredefort Dome, in the Free State, are preventing government from proclaiming the area as a world heritage site, says Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa.

In a written reply to a Parliamentary question, published on Tuesday, she said the area, which was already inscripted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in 2005, would be proclaimed “as soon as consensus is reached with the landowners on critical issues around governance and management models, and, in particular, the establishment of the management authority”.

Despite signing a memorandum of agreement in 2012, that was expected to result in the site’s proclamation being processed while the resolution of governance issues was under way, landowners' associations have demanded that governance matters be addressed simultaneously.

A management authority is expected to deal with issues relating to the preservation of archaeological sites, land use management and zoning, pollution and waste management, water resources and fire management.

As part of this management system, tourism development will also be ensured to support local economic development.

In February 2015, government said in its State of Conservation report for the Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site that the management authority was considered a public entity and that “the process of establishing a public entity involves lengthy consultations and has to be approved by the National Treasury”.

The proclamation could, therefore, not take place until the public entity was established.

Noting that government was not delaying the proclamation of the site, Molewa added that differences in "governance modalities" needed to be resolved with the landowners associations prior to the proclamation being effected.

“The Department of Environmental Affairs has made efforts to create the space for these to be addressed. However, the declarations of dispute by the landowners contribute to the slow pace in finalising the proclamation process,” she pointed out.

She warned that the failure to address these issues could lead to the undesirable withdrawal of the site by Unesco, which has already cited the deliberate destruction of heritage, illegal activities, the management systems and plans, and surface water pollution, as ongoing issues.

The Vredefort Dome, which is situated 120 km southwest of Johannesburg, is currently the largest and one of the oldest known meteor impact sites in the world and is South Africa’s seventh World Heritage Site.

Vredefort is a small farming community with around 3 000 residents.