Lonmin is found wanting
THE MARIKANA Commission of Inquiry has found that platinum mining company Lonmin had failed in a number of areas when it came to the Marikana massacre of August 2012, President Jacob Zuma said last night.
Zuma appointed the commission in August 2012 to investigate the deaths of 44 people during a platinum mine strike in Rustenburg in the North West.
The Marikana massacre was the single most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since the Sharpeville massacre in 1960. The commission was chaired by retired judge Ian Farlam.
“Bread winners were taken away in a brutal way. The entire South African nation was shocked and the world was shocked by these events,” Zuma said at the unveiling of the commission’s report.
The commission found that Lonmin had not used its best endeavours when it came to handling the events related to the Marikana massacre, Zuma said.
“Lonmin did not respond appropriately,” Zuma said quoting from the report.
The mining company had failed to provide sufficient safety for its employees, especially the non-striking workers, which the company required to go to work despite the violence and intimidation that had characterised the strike.
The commission was also critical of Lonmin’s implementation of its social and labour plans.
Lonmin shares on the JSE closed down 3.48 percent at R22.99 yesterday. The close is 73 percent down from the close of R83.70 for Lonmin shares on August 16, 2012 – the day of the massacre.
Turning to the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), Zuma said the commission found that Amcu had not exercised effective control over its members and supporters to ensure that these members acted in a lawful manner.
The report found that Amcu officials had also made inflammatory comments that aggravated the volatile situation at the time, Zuma added.
Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa was singled out by the report as having done his best to try and get the striking workers to lay down their weapons and leave the koppie, Zuma said.
Regarding the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Zuma said the commission found that the union had not exercised effective control over its members during the strike in 2012.
The NUM had also encouraged its non-striking members to report for work at Lonmin’s shaft despite the real danger that they could be killed or injured by armed strikers.
The commission also found that there were individual striking workers and “loose groups” that had added to the conflict and confrontation during the strike.