Devastating scenes are playing out in the North West town of Stilfontein, where rescue efforts for the thousands of artisanal miners or zama zamas who have been trapped underground since July are taking place.
So far, more than 60 bodies of the miners have been retrieved from the Buffelsfontein gold mine’s abandoned Shaft 11. More than a hundred people have been arrested since the beginning of the operation on Monday.
The operations commenced on Monday after a High Court ruling on Friday ordered the state to finalise and send a service-level agreement and a letter of appointment to Mines Rescue Services so that the rescue could begin.
We told you in November how the government had remained steadfast in its crackdown on illegal mining through Operation Vala Umgodi, a national campaign to eliminate illicit mining. The operation has seen more than 1,000 zama zamas arrested after resurfacing, leaving many others trapped underground, with little access to food or water, creating a growing humanitarian crisis. And now, we’re seeing this play out in real time.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to establish an independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate the tragedy. DA member of parliament and spokesperson on mineral and petroleum resources, James Lorimer, questioned why the situation had been “allowed to get so badly out of hand.” Lorimer said that Ramaphosa needed to establish the commission while the situation was still ongoing and before the illegal miners and witnesses disappeared.
The community of Stilfontein have accused Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe and Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu of murder over the deaths of the miners. After an angry crowd hurled insults at them, the two ministers had to be spirited away.
This is a tragedy that was preventable. But the actions of the police and comments like those made by Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni led to the preventable death of many of the miners who were afraid of being arrested. While we should all call out criminal activity, those responsible for this senseless crisis should also be held to account.