Saftu wants zama zama industry regulated

The SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) wants illegal mining regulated and for the industry to be placed in the hands of communities and the working class.

In a solidarity message to mark the start of a three-day Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) summit in Joburg yesterday, Saftu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, said legalising informal mining by zama zamas would protect livelihoods of artisanal miners – preventing a recurrence of the Stilfontein tragedy.

After months of a standoff with the police in an abandoned gold mine of Stilfontein in North West, close to 80 miners died, while several were arrested.

80 zama zamas died at Stilfontein

Delegates to the Macua gathering, attended by community leaders, activists, unions and policy makers, are seeking to address what organiser Christopher Rutledge described as “systematic injustices in the mining sector”.

The gathering, ending tomorrow, planned to develop “actionable strategies to advance working class interests”.

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Vavi said the plight of mining-affected communities, was “emblematic of the broader crisis facing our people – a crisis rooted in the ruthless pursuit of profit over people”.

He said Saftu and Macua were “natural allies in this struggle”.

“Both our organisations share a common hatred for xenophobia and the dangerous scapegoating of migrant workers.

‘Natural allies in this struggle’

“We vehemently oppose shifting the blame for the capitalist crisis and government inefficiencies, onto the shoulders of vulnerable migrant communities.

“The real culprits are the corporations and government policies prioritising profits over people,” said Vavi.

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He said Saftu and Macua demanded “the nationalisation of our mineral wealth, based on the economic demands of the Freedom Charter, ensuring that our country’s resources benefit the many, not the few”.

The department of mineral resources and petroleum resources should “shoulder the blame for the crisis in the mining sector”.

Said Vavi: “The department of mineral and petroleum resources has consistently failed to implement key legislative requirements designed to protect workers and communities.

Govt failure to implement key legislative requirements

“This failure has led to thousands of workers being misled and recruited under false pretences, believing they were returning to legitimate mining jobs – only to find themselves risking their lives in dangerous, unregulated conditions and descending 2.8km on ropes into abandoned mines.”

The state, said Vavi, “committed a second massacre in Stilfontein, after Marikana. The state delayed the rescue mission for nearly two months, only acting when videos surfaced showing bodies piling up and reports indicating that the starving miners were resorting to cannibalism.

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“The state knew that no-one could escape from shaft 11 without proper equipment: a cage, rope or makeshift structure,” said Vavi.

“The state also knew it would take four days to crawl from shaft 11 to shaft 10, where most of the bodies were found.

“Contrary to earlier claims that escaping via shaft 10 was easy, we discovered during the rescue mission that it was nearly impossible and posed significant risks to anyone attempting it.

Rescue mission nearly impossible

“This is a blatant attempt to cover up the state’s culpability.”

Saftu has reiterated its call for “a full commission of inquiry into the deaths of the more than 80 artisanal miners”.

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