It is so sad that men who risk their lives every day and get paid so little have lost their lives because they demanded more money. What makes this so sad is the fact that we saw how greed and no interest for humanity come into at play.
Two years later, we have been following the hearing that took place, seeing and hearing how some shifted the blame, no one took responsibility for what happened, political parties and unions using this platform to be political and use the media for their own gain.
Sadly, those who suffer the most in these hearings are the family, the widows, the children who have lost their breadwinners, their fathers. No one will ever replace a breadwinner; one must concede that a family that loses a sole breadwinner will continue to suffer.
For political parties coming to Marikana its just plain politicking. They do all these speeches, blame other people, and one wonders what these parties have actually done for the victims?
The victims live in informal settlements, where they use broken communal toilets and some of their homes/shacks are in a terrible state. They have no access to electricity or even water.
The crime in informal settlements is very bad, the level of debt that the miners are in with ‘bo mashonisas’ (loan sharks) is shocking and many will never be able to pay off their loans. The children of these miners will most likely not escape the chains of poverty. They deserve access to good schools, uniforms, shoes, stationery and food. Who can learn on an empty stomach ?
But political parties think talking about this sad reality they’re doing their jobs. Meanwhile they drive their expensive German machines to Marikana, fly from CT to get to NW, eat at top restaurants before and after they address the victims, some are known to dress expensively and wear Gucci shoes.
I will certainly withdraw my statements if political parties can assure us that they have done more for victims than just raising issues in Parliament, Provincial legislatures and local council meetings.
We should be ashamed of ourselves for allowing this to continue.
Views shared by Sipho Masigo do not necessarily reflect the views of the Southern Courier or Caxton Local Newspapers
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