Zama zama bosses the real villains

At first glance, it seems as though the zama zamas – the illegal miners who work closed, mainly gold mines – are a way that the economy seeks its natural balance and provides for people without new exploitation of resources.

However, the reality is that, along with the often desperate people willing to risk their lives to feed themselves and their families, comes an ugly crime network.

Wherever these operations open up, crime soon becomes a major problem. Although murders are the biggest issue, other violent and petty crime soon envelops nearby communities.

Now, illegal mining is spreading from traditional strongholds of Gauteng and North West into other provinces, such as Mpumalanga, where the crime now poses a threat to communities and badly needed businesses like tourism.

The law enforcement authorities seem to take little action and, when they do, it normally focuses on the workers themselves, not on the brutal “kingpins” who control the gold trade and associated illegal activities.

Surely the time has come for the government to step in. Apart from cracking down on the big fish, there needs to be a process to regularise the business.

Not only will the workers be safer but, perhaps, there could be tax revenue to be collected.