NC miners join march
ABOUT 250 illegal miners from the Northern Cape earlier this week joined hundreds of zama zamas from across the country in a march on the offices of the Department of Mineral Resources in Pretoria, demanding the legitimisation of their operations and the scrapping of the Mining and Petroleum Resource Development Act.
In their memorandum the miners called for an end to the ban on informal mining, arguing that current legislation prevented them from earning an honest living.
Unemployment in their communities, as well as harassment by mine security and law enforcement were also among the issues raised.
Representing the miners from Kimberley, Luckyboy Seekoei said that poverty necessitated illegal mining, adding that the problem was compounded by the damage caused by large mining houses.
“They have closed the mines, saying that there is no production. But when we go in we always find something which we can use to provide for our families,” he said.
“We came here to demand our basic right. Our right to work. If we cannot work we are not going to survive. If we cannot work then we are going to die.”
Seekoei urged the Minister of Mineral Resources, Mosenenzi Zwane, to encourage the mining companies to enter into negotiations with small-scale miners to find a solution that is fair and sustainable.
During the march on Tuesday, the national organiser for Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), Meshack Mbangula, accused the DMR and mining companies of putting profits ahead of people and he encouraged workers to claim what was rightfully theirs.
“Our minerals are owned by so-called investors whose sole aim is to maximise profits and leave the people poor,” he told marchers. “This is our country. These are our minerals. We are the rightful owners of these minerals. We cannot be told by foreign companies that we are illegal in our own land,”
The memorandum was signed and accepted by a representative from the department on behalf of the minister. She thanked the protesters for raising the issues.
The protesters gave the department seven days to respond to their demands and vowed to return if they were not satisfied with the response.