MACUA calls for justice and closure for families of illegal miners who died at Stilfontein
The organisation, along with religious and traditional leaders, held a cleansing ceremony at shafts 10 and 11 of the Buffelsfontein mine this week, where dozens of miners perished.
Since August last year, over 1,000 illegal miners surfaced from underground, while others died, reportedly from dehydration and starvation.
READ: 3 more illegal miners resurface at abandoned Stilfontein mine
MACUA's Sabelo Mnguni said that many of the deceased were buried without the community's involvement.
"Some of them were not retrieved, some of them were buried through state funerals where even the community is not participating."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eyewitness News
2 days ago
- Eyewitness News
MACUA: State continues to prioritise business over people
JOHANNESBURG - As the 13th anniversary of the Marikana Massacre draws closer, some mining communities believe that government has not done enough to protect them from businesses. On 16 August 2012, police in the North West killed 34 Lonmin miners who were striking for better wages. On Wednesday, civil lobby group, Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), held a march in Pretoria to commemorate the event. ALSO READ: • Civil lobby group MACUA criticised for targeting illegal miners not buyers of illicit materials • Calls are growing for the legalisation of artisanal mining by communities around mining towns • Some mining communities believe current legislation excludes them from being consulted on mining activities As part of its march, MACUA submitted its objection to the Draft Minerals Resources Development Bill. It said that the bill, in its current form, did not fully address the issue of consultation between communities and mining companies. Thirteen years later, the group's Sabelo Mnguni said that the state continued to prioritise business over people. "Marikana happens in different forms. We are being killed where we live because we live in contaminated land. We drink contaminated water, our houses are cracking and the environment in cracking, so Marikana is everyday." The group said that an investigation must be held into the Stilfontein tragedy, where 78 suspected zama zama's died earlier this year.
Eyewitness News
3 days ago
- Eyewitness News
Civil lobby group MACUA criticised for targeting illegal miners not buyers of illicit materials
JOHANNESBURG - Civil lobby group Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) has been criticised for only targeting illegal miners and not the buyers of illicit minerals. On Wednesday, the group marched to the offices of the Department of Mineral Resources in five different provinces. Part of their demands to the government is the formalisation of artisanal and small-scale farming. MACUA criticised Operation Vala Umgodi as inhumane. Operation Vala Umgodi is a police strategy to deal with illegal mining by closing the access to the mines and forcing the illegal miners out. However, MACUA's Sabelo Mnguni said police must take into account that the majority of illegal miners are desperate, unemployed young people. 'The concern that we are having is we are only seeing the zama zama's or the workers, those who are underground or undocumented. We haven't seen any arrests in the supply chain itself. We want it to cut across, including the kingpins.' Police have previously mentioned they have a multi-disciplinary approach to illegal mining, with the Hawks responsible for catching the buyers of illicit minerals.
eNCA
7 days ago
- eNCA
A deeper dive into the world of illegal mining
BARBERTON, MP - Some illegal miners are refusing to resurface at the Sheba gold mine in Barberton. And this is delaying the return of some of the mine's operations back to normal, with mineworkers fearing for their safety. Over 500 zama-zamas have been arrested in the last week, as part of Operation Vala uMgodi. They were charged for contravention of South African immigration act and trespassing, while others faced charges for possession of gold bearing material. On Monday, the 4th of August, mine management told eNCA that there are no longer illegal miners underground. At the time, a large number of illegal miners, the majority of whom were undocumented foreign nationals, appeared in the Barberton Magistrate's court READ: Sheba Mine owners call for help as Zama-Zama activities continue One illegal miner told eNCA that some of his colleagues remain underground, and will only surface once they get paid what they are owed. Some in the community, say illegal mining has been allowed to thrive for years, and blame mine management, accusing it of enabling these activities. There is still no comprehensive government plan to deal with this problem, that attracts zama-zamas miners from around the SADC region. What is also worrying is the recruitment of children to work underground, six of whom have been discovered in Barberton. It's a problem that involves Police, Mineral Resources, Home Affairs and Social Development Services, requiring the cooperation of these government departments. Until then, Operation Vala uMgodi, in collaboration with Sheba Mine private security continue to monitor the situation at the mine.
