Zama zamas to hold a protest march
WHILE police discovered 96 explosives linked to illegal mining in Ekurhuleni yesterday, hundreds of illegal miners were finalising their plans for today’s unprecedented protest to decriminalise their activities.
The Mining Affected Communities United In Action (Macua) has mobilised over 500 people from the mining communities around the country, including illegal miners – known as zama zamas – to take part in a march and deliver a memorandum to the offices of the Department of Minerals and Resources (DMR) in Pretoria.
The march is intended to address issues affecting people living in mining areas and for the zama zamas to push their agenda for legalising their activities. This will be the first time illegal miners engage in a public protest relating to their activities.
Ironically, yesterday morning, the Ekurhuleni metro police department (EMPD) found a cache of 96 tube bombs, 26 ammonia nitrate bombs and detonators in the veld in Benoni.
EMPD spokesperson Clifford Shongwe said they received a tipoff about explosives that were being sold to zama zamas and ATM bombers in the area.
He said six Zimbabweans were arrested.
Today’s march in Pretoria will start at 11am near Park Street Museum and proceed to the DMR offices in Sunnyside. In its memorandum, Macua also called for an urgent zama zama conference.
Macua’s national organiser, Meshack Mbangula, said they wanted the government to formalise illegal mining, address the impact of abandoned and unrehabilitated mines, scrap the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) and for the review of the controversial Mining Charter.
He said affected communities had not been given enough time to read and understand the charter and the MPRDA papers.
“We were never part of those processes. These documents were just shoved down our throats and we were expected to agree with them, even though we are still in the dark about what they entail and their impact on our lives,” said Mbangula.
Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane is embroiled in a legal battle with the Chamber of Mines over certain proposals contained in the new charter, which seek to address the black ownership of mining companies, among others.
“The charter also talks about companies giving 8% of their shares to communities where they mine, but it doesn’t state how this should happen. This could have been prevented had there been proper consultation,” said Mbangula.
He added that the MPRDA document was riddled with legal jargon and too technical for an ordinary person to understand.
Luckyboy Seekoei, national organiser of Kimberley’s Smallscale Miners, said they had 3 000 zama zamas operating in Kimberley in the Northern Cape and about 250 of them would be bused to Tshwane.
“We want to make it clear that we are demanding to be given permits to mine and feed our families.
“When many mines closed down in Kimberley, they left behind some of the minerals that we are now mining with our bare hands, but we get arrested,” he added.
Demanding to have activities decriminalised