THE Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) has called on the government to stop political games and act immediately regarding the rescue of the zama zamas (illegal miners) who are trapped underground at Buffelsfontein goldmine in Stilfontein, North West.
The organisation said there were concerns that police were working on hand with the media to interview miners exiting from the ground.
This was after community members raised concerns about how police had been handling the situation.
An unknown number of illegal miners remain underground in an effort to evade arrest after police started operation “Vala Umgodi”, which focuses on curbing illegal mining.
The miners continue to send up letters pleading for food and medication and for the swift rescue of the sick. Nine people dead.
The organisation said it also noted claims made by police that miners have been exiting from shaft 10.
It said there were also claims by the people who police claimed exited from shaft 10, about being held underground by armed men and that food has been appropriated by these men.
“The information that people who have exited from shaft 10 appears to be different from the information provided by those in shaft 11 and community members and miners who have worked underground for more than 10 years have raised serious concerns about the veracity of not only the people who are claimed to have exited, but also the information that they are sharing with police and the media,” said media and communications manager, Magnificent Mndebele.
Mndebele said Macua found it very strange that these miners were exiting late at night and that police were always on hand with the media to interview those who had exited.
He said this was particularly strange to say because the incline at shaft 10 requires those who are exiting to exert an immense amount of energy to reach the top. “If starving individuals try and exit this way they will almost certainly die as they would not have the energy to traverse the steep incline which requires strength and energy to hold on to the ladders that are old, dangerous and slippery.”
Mndebele said those who have used this exit in the past have suggested that the exit was so strenuous that even fit and well-nourished individuals would need at least two to three hours to recover from the strenuous activity.
“Thus, the fact that the media are interviewing ostensibly well-fed individuals who are not physically exhausted raises further questions about whether these interviews are being staged to propagate a false narrative to the media and the public.
“The community has expressed further scepticism as the media is called at 00h30 at night to interview those who have ‘exited’ yet when people are extracted from shaft 11, the media is not allowed to interview them,” Mndebele said.
Mndebele said those those extracted from shaft 11 were visibly weak and physically depleted in stark contrast to the well-fed individuals. The police have been parading to the media in the middle of the night.
He said the claims made by those who claimed to have exited shaft 11 appeared to also contradict their own versions, and on the other hand, they said they were kept at gunpoint and claimed to have been told to go if they “so wished”.
“Furthermore, they claim that 36 men are holding 800 people hostage in a situation of dire hunger and starvation. This seems highly unlikely that 800 people would simply lay down and die without putting up some form of resistance to those holding them captive,” he said.
Mndebele said that police themselves had provided contradictory statements to the media, adding that on the one hand, they had claimed that the miners were refusing to leave, while on the other claimed that they were being held hostage.
“If they are being held hostage, then the police have a duty to do everything in their power to free them from those who are holding them captive and should not be allowing the miners to die from hunger and starvation or to stay in custody one minute longer.
“The police themselves have provided contradictory statements to the media, on the one hand claiming that the miners are simply refusing to leave, and on the other claiming that they are being held hostage.
“If they are being held hostage, then the police have a duty to do everything in their power to free them from those who are holding them captive and should not be allowing the miners to die from hunger and starvation or to stay in custody one minute longer,” he said.
Macua recently approached the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria after police refuse to allow community members and charitable organisations to provide food,water and medication for the miners.
Illegal mining is widespread in South Africa and thousands of people routinely search for gold deposits in abandoned mines that are longer deemed viable or safe Illegal mining also made a considerable dent in economy.
The cost of illegal mining is estimated to be over R70 million a year in gold alone and resulting in huge losses of revenue for both government and mining sector.
This also have a negative impact on the safety and health of surrounding communities.
manyane.manyane@inl.co.za