Chiefs’ mining deals stir unrest
Power struggle as communities want to see benefits
ANEW power struggle is unfolding in South Africa’s old homelands between global mining giants, traditional leaders and a poor rural populace. Parts of an industry long used to labour unrest are now contending with community protests that have cut production of the country’s largest mineral export earner, platinum, and may shut some operations down altogether.
At the heart of the conflict are tribal leaders who have royal titles and feudalstyle control over the homelands.
They are key allies of President Jacob Zuma, whose political base has become increasingly rural, and the ANC has drafted a law that would cement their control.
But with protests spreading across the former homelands, the communities, mining companies and some within the ANC itself are moving to change what they see as an anachronistic system.
The traditional leaders have acted as intermediaries with companies which have discovered chrome and coal as well as platinum, and hope to find shale gas.
Many residents say they are seeing none of the proceeds.
“If they don’t give us that R175-million we are going to shut down the mine,” a leader of the community around the Mogalakwena platinum mine, Chippa Langa, said, referring to a community fund set up by Anglo American Platinum.
To avoid such an outcome, a leading human rights lawyer is negotiating with the local royal house to allow community representatives more control over the fund.
It is a plan that, if copied elsewhere, would dilute the power of the tribal leaders and could do the same to the ANC.
But the lawyer, Richard Spoor, says he and his legal team, who are acting for the communities rather than the mine, are not undermining tradition.
“Our view is that this more democratic model is far more aligned with traditional law and custom,” he said.
“We don’t regard the current very authoritarian top-down style of chieftainship as consistent with the traditional institution.”
Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa head of presidency Zolani Mkiva agreed that the African way was bottom up, but said what he called isolated cases involving some mining deals were giving the chiefs a bad name.
Discontent has not been confined to Mogalakwena.
Impala Platinum’s Marula mine was hit by community protests in the last financial year.
A nearby chrome project it set up with a tribal council has collapsed and Impala says it may soon have to close Marula.
The bill before parliament formalises the current political system in the homelands with a clause allowing traditional councils to enter partnerships with any “body or institution”.
It says such deals must be beneficial to the community represented by such council, but does not require consultation.
However, ANC MP Richard Mdakane, who chairs the parliamentary committee on traditional matters, said villagers should have more say.
“We are amending many clauses to make sure the bill allows community participation in these processes,” he said.
Some in the ANC are seeking to go further by ending the chief’s role as custodians of land now regarded as communal by giving villagers title deeds to the land they plough.
ANC treasurer-secretary Zweli Mkhize said: “There is a huge discussion about what kind of land tenure we need in the former homelands.”