Blyvoor trapped in legal minefield
Shafts and livelihood of workers under threat
LEGAL manoeuvring is delaying the liquidation of Blyvooruitzicht mine near Carletonville, threatening the livelihood of people on the property and the future of underground shafts.
At the entrance to the Blyvoor property, a Casspir riddled with bullet holes symbolises the “war zone” residents say the property has become since Village Main Reef pulled the plug on funding at the end of last July.
Since then, at least 30 people were murdered at Blyvoor as zama zamas, or illegal miners, seized control of the property. Water and electricity supply to large parts of the village was cut off, and many people, including school children, rely almost entirely on a soup kitchen at the Dutch Reformed Church, which serves meals three times a week.
“Every day is a struggle,” said a security guard from East London. “Often I go two, three days with no food. We have kids in school. How can I even get home? I have no money. We are suffering here.” He said he had not been paid since December.
Court attempts by the liquidators to cancel the sale to Goldrich, a shadowy company that was given control of the property in December, were delayed this week as a judge ruled that oral evidence had to be led.
Liquidator Leigh Roering said the parties were waiting for a court date, but negotiations with Goldrich continued in the meantime.
“We are still desperately trying to find some solution,” he said.
Goldrich failed at the end of last month to pay R15-million in terms of the contract, and has been accused of stripping the mine, including illegally removing gold-bearing material.
Goldrich denies the claims, but a court interdict was granted earlier this month forbidding Goldrich or the liquidators to remove anything from the property.
Five shaft, the only remaining underground asset with the potential to be restarted, has started to flood as Goldrich failed to pay for the pumping of water. Damage to the processing plant is estimated at up to R30-million.
To further complicate legal action against the company, Goldrich, which has failed to pay other creditors including Masakhane Security, has been placed under business rescue. Goldrich is run by Thulani Ngubane and Fazel Bhana, two of the key players behind Aurora Empowerment Systems.
Ngubane said Goldrich was spending about R1.8-million a month on security, “but we still have a major problem with the zama zamas. We have recently even learned that some of the security guards are working closely with some of these gangs of illegal miners.
“The zama zamas are becoming even stronger now because the mine does not really belong to Goldrich, and it does not really belong to the liquidator, so they are seeing the gap,” Ngubane said. “We are still in negotiations with the liquidator, and once we reach an agreement we will go to the courts to declare a court order. We know this asset still has potential, and at the end of the day we want to spend less time in the courts and more time in finding solutions.”
Nugbane and Bhana, along with Nelson Mandela’s grandson Zondwa Mandela, President Jacob Zuma’s nephew Khulubuse Zuma and Bhana’s father Solly face civil claims of nearly R2-billion for alleged assetstripping and gold theft from Pamodzi’s Grootvlei and Orkney mines.
Black and white Blyvoor workers and residents were united at a march this week, when protesters demanded payment of outstanding wages and retrenchment packages, medical-exit examinations to be conducted to allow people to seek alternative employment, water and electricity supply and for increased police visibility and the establishment of a satellite police station.
Richard Xati, a deputy regional secretary at the National Union of Mineworkers, said: “We are human beings. We need a decent life. We want liquidators not to sell the scrap for their own gains. That money must come to the creditors, the workers. We are the No 1 priority.
“We are not going to accept people who want to feed on the carcass of the workers. Government must come and help. We voted this government in for the sole reason to be biased to the working class,” Xati said.
At one deserted house, people were queuing for water at a tap. “The council has started to bring a water truck, but it is too small, and doesn’t come daily,” said a woman who lives more than 2km away. “I have to fill whatever I can and carry it home.”
A visit to the barracks housing about 150 Maskhane security guards revealed inhumane living conditions.
Water and electricity supply is sporadic, drains are blocked, rubbish collection has stopped and people are crowded into small rooms, many sleeping on the cement floor.