IMPACT OF ZAMA ZAMAS ON WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
“Their activities rob many people of the right to access basic services
THE SHAMEFUL destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure by activities associated with illegal miners, known as zama zamas, is an environmental eyesore that threatens to plunge the availability of water into an unprecedented crisis.
Pipes at water projects are being cut to access water, which enable them to wash the mine soil. In other areas, they wreak havoc stealing infrastructure in the form of electrical equipment, and destroying road infrastructure.
There is also the horror of loss of lives which accompany the activities as rival groups fight over territory.
The damage to infrastructure and theft run into billions of rand annually. The wanton destruction and theft is influenced by the false notion that government has unlimited financial resources to repair or replace what has been destroyed or stolen.
If the activities continue, the efforts by the Department of Water and Sanitation and municipalities to resuscitate failing and ageing infrastructure count for nothing. The department has noted with concern that destruction and theft have played a part in fuelling protests, which, in turn, becomes violent, leading to the destruction of public property.
Although not necessarily associated with the zama zamas’ activities, in certain instances the government had to bring in the SANDF to safeguard infrastructure.
Dysfunctional and outdated infrastructure impacts negatively on the ability of the government to attract investment and create jobs. It is also a serious health hazard and affects the communities’ economic prosperity.
The upshot of not dealing sufficiently with failing infrastructure leads to water sources being polluted with effluent. When this happens developments grind to a halt.
The building of other public infrastructure also stops, leading to a lack of critical drivers of development. In certain areas, development funds have been held back because there is lack of capacity to deal with sewer challenges. Thus, the destruction and theft provide no return on investment nor does it contribute to job creation.
Many people are sympathetic towards the desperate social and economic conditions that give rise to the zama zamas’ activities. However, their activities constitute a crime and rob many people, especially the poor, of the right to access basic services.
The situation must not be left to only the government, all of us must work hard to change it.
It is, therefore, one of the responsibilities of communities to come on board in dealing with the illegal mining that destroys the infrastructure on which communities depend to access water.
There must be a growing awareness about the negative contribution of illegal mining so that communities can play an active role to stop the illegal mining activities.
Water is essential to life and to the development of communities. Accordingly, dealing with acts of wanton destruction and theft of water and sanitation infrastructure will have a positive economic, social and health significance for communities.