Missed chance to heal
THE fifth anniversary of the Marikana disaster in which 34 mineworkers died in a hail of bullets fired by police has come and gone. And, sadly, not much has changed.
Again EFF leaders Julius Malema and Dali Mpofu shared the stage at the site of the tragedy with Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa, their faces filled with malevolence.
They decried the fact that “nothing” had changed and “nothing” had been done to heal the wounds. To a degree, they were right. Not much has been done about the gaping wounds and not enough has been done to restore the relative peace that was ruptured during the darkest period of our democratic era.
This week South Africa was reminded of August 16, 2012. We should remember the 34 who died that day and the 10 killed earlier as the tragedy of the unprotected strike began to develop around one of the world’s biggest platinum mines.
Key role players should be reminded they made terrible mistakes, either by their actions or failure to act, when circumstances required leadership.
Those among them still alive should hang their heads in shame, do some soul-searching and find ways to heal our land. Unfortunately, we keep seeing and hearing much the same every year.
In the run-up to August 16, it looked as though a key role player, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, would reach out to the victims, account for his actions or omissions and apologise.
He offered an apology in May for the “inappropriate, unfortunate” language he used and committed to taking part in an initiative involving Winnie Madikizela-mandela to heal the wounds.
Sadly, August 16 came and went and there was no visit or apology involving Ramaphosa. Instead his office stated he would not go to Marikana that day.
Ramaphosa should be commended for his apology. It was at least a start. But a huge opportunity was missed. He and others involved failed to show leadership, deal with the tragedy squarely and help move the country forward. The wounds continue to fester, with some shamelessly milking the incident for political gain.
At the time of the tragedy Ramaphosa was a non-executive director of the mining company at the core. He continued to rise to positions of power with this albatross around his neck. With more power at his disposal, more was expected from him. He may have to resolve the issue before rising further as it is hardening rather than fading.