An activist has suggested that the government should recognise artisanal mining, as a solution to the scourge of illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview on Salaamedia on Thursday, social justice activist Hassen Lorgat said artisanal mining would unlock employment opportunities for impoverished communities.
“They should have a right to have small-scale, decentralised mining which may give a lot more employment to people and be more sensitive to the environment and to the people. This idea of getting involved with what the big bosses left is a problem,” he said.
Lorgat’s suggestion comes on the back of comments made by Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, minister in the Presidency, yesterday.
She came under fire for suggesting that the 4 000 illegal miners trapped underground in Stilfontein, North West, should not wait for government assistance.
“We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out. They will come out. We are not sending help to criminals. Criminals are not to be helped, criminals are to be persecuted,” she told the media.
There are approximately 6 000 abandoned mines in South Africa. Illegal miners, desperate to earn a living and sometimes part of syndicates, cash in on companies’ leftovers.
The government estimates illegal mining activities cost the country R70 billion annually in gold alone.
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Picture: AP
