Time to act as illegal mining puts city in danger
The impact of illegal mining in SA has been widely reported, but revelations in the Sunday Times today about the imminent danger it has put Johannesburg in have taken the issue to a whole new level. About R13.8bn worth of gold is stolen from mines every year. Despite this, the government has for years been complacent about addressing the issue. Many disused mine shafts remain easily accessible and there is no effective plan to deal with this burgeoning underworld industry. This inaction can no longer be allowed. The latest warnings that illegal miners are digging and blasting with explosives just metres from underground gas and petrol pipelines mean thousands of lives are at risk.
How would the government react if the 84,000-seater FNB Stadium — described by experts as a high-risk area for disaster due to the maze of mining tunnels below it and the gas pipeline that runs beside it — collapsed or blew up during an event?
This weekend, worshippers have packed the stadium for a national prayer meeting organised by the Patrice Motsepe Foundation.
This week US rock band Guns N’ Roses will play there, and next Sunday Beyoncé and Jay-Z will lead an A-list line-up at the stadium in a concert that will be screened across the globe to honour Nelson Mandela’s life.
Should a disaster occur at any of these events, how will officials explain that they knew about the impending disaster for more than a year, but did nothing?
Experts have come up with possible solutions. Backfilling disused mine shafts is one. There are many platforms where this issue can be discussed. Among them are the department of mineral resources, the department of co-operative governance & traditional affairs, the City of Johannesburg, the Gauteng Illegal Mining Stakeholders Forum and the Minerals Council SA. Yet there appears to be a worrying lack of communication between some of these groups.
Instead of pointing fingers and diverting blame, officials need to put petty politics aside and come together — alongside mining companies — to hammer out a solution to this crisis. If they do not, the consequences could be catastrophic.