“Marikana still needs justice. I remember watching television seven years ago and it was like wow under a new dispensation … We are calling on the president [Cyril Ramaphosa] to make a pronouncement, let us have this day as Marikana memorial day,” said DA North West provincial leader Joe McGluwa.
He was speaking at the foot of the infamous Marikana koppie ahead of the Marikana seventh anniversary commemoration.
McGluwa said Ramaphosa should establish a task team to oversee the much needed reform in the mining sector.
“This task team ought to compromise of government officials, opposition parties in parliament, industry experts, union representatives, and representatives from all major mining companies in South Africa.”
August 16 marks the day 34 striking Lonmin mine workers died when the police shot at them. The workers were on a wildcat strike at the time. They were demanding to be paid a monthly salary R12,500.
As many as 10 people – including two policemen and two Lonmin security guards – were killed in the days before the police shot at the strikers near the Marikana koppie.
Among those attending the seventh anniversary commemoration on Friday were former Lilly Mine workers from Mpumalanga.
The former mine workers were led by Harry Mazibuko, who said they have spent 109 days camping at the Lilly Mine to press the mine to retrieve the bodies three of their colleagues – Pretty Nkambule, Solomon Nyerende and Yvonne Mnisi .
They died when they became trapped underground in a metal structure in a massive ground collapse in February 2016.
“We camped at the mine from April 30, we wanted to be closer to our colleague on Workers’ Day [ May 1]. We want their bodies to be brought to surface and we also want the mine to be opened for people to start working,” said Mazibuko.
“The closure of the mine has affected us a lot … our cars have been repossessed, children were forced to move from one school to another and former mine workers are owing a local shop owner more than R100,000.”
Mazibuko said there were more than 800 former mine workers who were indebted to the shop owner and more than 20 had died in the last three year.
“We want government to intervene, a case of culpable homicide was opened against the mine in April, but, to date nothing has happened,” he said.
Association of Mine workers and Construction Union (Amcu) members were scattered around the koppie from where they watched cultural groups perform.
Amcu leader Joseph Mathunjwa was expected to address the members later on Friday afternoon.
ANA
