‘The fight against illegal mining is seeing results,’ says Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa says there are gains in the battle against illegal mining and zama zamas.

Last week, the Justice Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster stressed that the government was dealing with the issue of zama zamas and illegal mining, with a number of arrests made.

According to the cluster, more than 4 000 arrests have been made for various offences related to illegal mining, and between April and August, more than 7 000 suspects involved in illegal mining were arrested for contravening immigration regulations.

“Illegal mining is linked to other crimes such as money laundering, bribery and corruption, illicit financial flows, human and weapons trafficking, and other forms of organised crime,” the president said.

Devastating effects of illegal mining

Recently, the president gave the go-ahead for the deployment of 3 300 South African National Defence Forces (SANDF) soldiers for a six-month period to assist the Saps’ operations against illicit mining.

Writing in his weekly newsletter on Monday, Ramaphosa said the Saps, the State Security Agency, the recently-established Border Management Authority, the departments of Mineral Resources and Energy, Home Affairs, Justice and Constitutional Development, Environmental Affairs, and others are all involved in this multi-sectoral effort, which is supported by the deployment of the SANDF.

He said some of the devastating effects of illegal mining on community safety have been made evident by recent instances.

“These incidents include the gang rapes last year of a group of women allegedly by illegal miners; an underground gas explosion at a disused mine in Welkom in May this year that killed 31 illegal miners; and a gas explosion linked to illegal mining activity at an informal settlement in Boksburg in June this year that claimed dozens of lives,” the president said.

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Everyone must contribute to the fight against illegal mining if we are to win this battle, Ramaphosa said.

“Mining houses that don’t comply with the laws around the closure and rehabilitation of mines have contributed to the proliferation of illegal mining,” he said.

According to the government, there are about 6 100 unused, derelict, or abandoned mines, and in certain instances, the mines are ancient and the owners are untraceable, while in other instances, the miners have disregarded their responsibilities to close or renovate these mines.

The president added that government’s efforts to combat illegal mining are part of their efforts to combat all forms of economic sabotage, such as cable theft, extortion at building sites, and other harm to vital infrastructure.

“Working together with business, unions and communities, we will not let up in our fight against the acts of sabotage that are undermining our country’s development,” Ramaphosa said.

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