Mining operations at Msobo Coal near Carolina were again interrupted last week when members of Carolina
Employment Business and Training (CEBT) along with members of the community brought work to a standstill.
At the heart of the community protests was the renewal of the Precision Opencast Mining Services (POMS) contract by Msobo Coal despite last year’s agreement with CEBT and the community that it would not be renewed.
POMS is allegedly in a legally binding agreement to give preference to its retrenched employees whenever they are contracted to do any mining work.
In September last year during one of the total shutdowns at Msobo, the secretary of CEBT, Ms Fortunate Shongwe, told the Highvelder that Msobo Coal had promised to employ locals and provide procurement opportunities to local businesses, which to date they allege has not happened as per agreement.
In last week’s protests, trucks at one of the surrounding mines were stopped by locals and forced to offload their loads on the road in an attempt to disrupt production and other trucks were reportedly stoned.
One of the affected truck owners, not contracted with Msobo Coal or any of the mines, said his driver was assaulted and his truck stoned, but was lucky not to have his load left on the side of the road.
The Executive Mayor of Chief Albert Luthuli Municipality, Cllr D.P. Nkosi, called a meeting last Friday with involved stakeholders, but it did not end well as the community was not satisfied with some of the outcomes.
A follow-up meeting was scheduled for Wednesday (yesterday), but no details were available when the newspaper went to print.
