The Mpumalanga government has declared war on illegal mining activities taking place on the outskirts of Pilgrim’s Rest.
Leading the onslaught are Premier Mandla Ndlovu, community safety, security and liaison MEC Jackie Macie, and acting provincial police commissioner Major General Dr Zeph Mkhwanazi.
These three lieutenants lead a powerful team, which comprises the SAPS, the military and private security companies. Together they conducted a sting operation at the Pilgrim’s Rest mine up in the mountains on Friday, September 6, which saw at least 16 illegal miners arrested.
We decided to get involved here, because we know that if we fail to deal with crime, investors will run away.
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Ndlovu believes the provincial government has sent a strong message to these zama zamas that the government is in charge. “We are paying special attention to any form of crime in this province, including construction and mining mafias. We will arrest without fear or favour,” he said after the operation.
Pilgrim’s Rest was even closer to the team’s hearts because it was a tourist destination that must be kept crime-free. “We decided to get involved here, because we know that if we fail to deal with crime, investors will run away. There are many people who want to invest in Mpumalanga, but cannot because of such criminal activities. Mpumalanga is the second most visited province in the country, but lately, we have been receiving disturbing reports which paint a bad picture for us. We are here today to clean up this area so that our tourists can feel free and safe,” Ndlovu said.
He committed to paying close attention to this issue as his administration wants to build the province’s economy. “The barbaric actions of these uninvited people who are here illegally will soon come to an end. These foreign nationals respect their own countries, but disrespect ours. We will not tolerate it. We will send them back to their countries, one way or another.”
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Ndlovu appreciated the fact that tourism in Pilgrim’s Rest continued without any hindrances and applauded those in the sector for keeping up their good work, even in the midst of these challenges.
Macie said he was happy with how the operation had been conducted and the successes recorded. “This motivates us to intensify this campaign until we restore this place to its former glory. We will come back unannounced, because we are serious about reclaiming this space here,” he said.
There are many of these zama zamas and we know that they will want to regroup after today. However, we will not retreat or surrender until we have won this war.
Mkhwanazi also applauded the team and community members for their co-operation during this operation. “We decided to come back again today after we had made our first surprise visit here. There are many of these zama zamas and we know that they will want to regroup after today. However, we will not retreat or surrender until we have won this war. We are the law and we are going to keep on coming back here until the war against illegal mining in this and in other areas is won.”
He said they would also follow up on those supplying tools and equipment to these illegal miners. “You can tell by the equipment they have here that they must have some serious backup. We need to find out who is supplying them and shut them down,” said Mkhwanazi.
Pilgrim’s Rest locals maintained that tourism has not been affected by the illegal mining activities in the mountains. On Friday, while the operation was in progress, a group of international and domestic tourists visited the town for some sightseeing and other activities.
