Parliament committee to conduct oversight at Lily mine, Mashaba confirms

Mashaba had pledged to provide 'the very best' legal support to the families of the three miners and ensure they get justice.

The entrance to the Lily Mine in Barberton, Mpumalanga. Picture: Supplied to Moneyweb

Following major findings in the Lily mine case last month, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has confirmed that the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy will conduct an oversight at the mine in Barberton, Mpumalanga.

In 2016, the entrance to the mine collapsed which left three miners, Pretty Nkambule, Yvonne Mnisi and Solomon Nyirenda, dead with the container they were in after rockfall being buried underground.

Mashaba had pledged to provide “the very best” legal support to the families of the three miners and ensure they get justice after visiting the site earlier this year.

The ActionSA leader said on Twitter on Thursday morning that the decision to conduct an oversight comes after Mashaba along with his legal team and the representatives of families of the deceased met the committee in February.

“Things are moving! The portfolio committee is conducting oversight at Lily mine. This is a step in the right direction,” Mashaba said.

“We will be there to make sure the interests of the families and colleagues of Pretty Nkambule, Yvonne Mnisi and Solomon Nyirenda are protected!”

Things are moving!

The portfolio committee is conducting oversight at #LilyMine. This is a step in the right direction.

We will be there to make sure the interests of the families and colleagues of Pretty Nkambule, Yvonne Mnisi, and Solomon Nyirenda are protected! https://t.co/ib3J4m7O1a

— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) October 8, 2020

During a press conference, Mashaba revealed that the previous report which deemed the retrieval of the container which entrapped the miners, was nothing short of propaganda.

These were “elaborate lies in the history of South Africa”, he said.

Legal action to force the department of mineral resources and energy to retrieve the container that has entombed the remains of the trapped Lily mineworkers for over four years continues, and Mashaba reiterated that he would not stop until justice was served.

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