‘Mines leave us with a toxic mess and unable to make a living, but no one cares’
HUMPHREY Mashabela sat in the front row, alongside fellow members of Mining-Affected Communities United in Action.
Like them, he was there not only to give his testimony about how the effects of mining operations had ravaged his home town in Limpopo, but to hear how the mining industry and government would respond.
“As the community, we are not respected by these mining companies,” he spat.
“There is a lot of pollution in terms of water and acid mine drainage and hazardous substances. It’s a mess. The government doesn’t care and there is no benefit for us from mining.”
Mashabela was speaking at the SA Human Rights Commission’s national investigative hearing on the socio-economic challenges faced by communities affected by mining.
The hearing ends on Tuesday, and the aim is to address the socio-economic problems that beset communities like Mashabela’s.
The commission says that despite the “progressive and extensive” regulatory mechanisms in place, significant levels of poverty, inequality and poor service delivery persist in these communities.
It says it has received numerous complaints about the negative consequences of mining.
It has consulted affected communities in Mpumalanga, KwaZuluNatal and Limpopo.
Among the problems explored is the way blasting operations have destroyed housing and graves, says Janet Love, a former commissioner, who convened the hearings.
“Water and its contamination are a huge issue in mining communities because of the impact on people’s health and on agriculture.
“It has had a devastating effect on a lot of livestock.
“The water issue is a quality issue. In some instances, mining operations have caused sources of water to dry up or become diverted – at huge cost to the community.
“Then there’s the rights question – people who live on communal land and have held title deeds from the early part of last century.
“Into that mix come mining operations that fail to consult communities meaningfully.
“There is often evidence of the agitation that is felt among communities, of the wealth flowing in and what appear to communities to be bribes – like 4x4s coming in, with no significant evidence of anything else.
“Specific undertakings have been given to communities (to provide) various forms of compensation and resettlement, but there are many instances of failure to deliver on promises.
“When mines have involved a huge number of migrant workers who have come into an area… the people who come into that area are not adequately accommodated and remain in a squalor of perpetual migrancy.
“Once the mining stops, there’s absolutely nothing.”
Mariette Liefferink, the chief executive of the Federation for a Sustainable Environment, told the Saturday Star that socio-economic development could not take place from “a deteriorating environmental base”.
After mining, the end land uses were often unsustainable, “so there are no viable livelihood opportunities after mining”.
Catherine Horsfield, the head of the mining programme at the Centre for Environmental Rights, said: “Mining directly impacts on people’s health and well-being through toxic dust, noise from blasting and haul trucks, and water shortages and pollution.
“(Also,) these very impacts impair communities’ access to economic development by making them less healthy, impeding their cultural heritage and limiting opportunities to make a livelihood.”