- MPs believe illegal mining affects more than just mine operations.
- On Thursday, MPs deliberated on the ANC-sponsored debate on illegal mining and associated crimes.
- ANC MP Mikateko Golden Mahlaule said the government is sympathetic to the social issues driving illegal mining.
Illegal mining is planned in the boardrooms of contract mafias while small pick and shovel operators, sometimes with massive machinery, go to work deep underground.
This is the all encompassing situation of illicit mining in South Africa – at least according to the DA.
On Thursday, MPs deliberated on the ANC-sponsored debate on illegal mining and associated crimes.
DA MP James Lorimer told the National Assembly that mine crimes are big business, and the amounts of money involved make it possible to pay off state officials.
"This crime happens through contract mafias in boardrooms, small pick and shovel operators on the surface, sometimes with massive yellow machines and also deep underground in both working and abandoned mines,' he said.
Lorimer also said that all revenue lost means no taxes or royalties paid, fatally unsafe working conditions, environmental damage, and the shortened life of mines.
"The Cooke mining complex was closed with the loss of 10 000 jobs because management was unable to stop the operation from being robbed into loss by illegal miners working with corrupted employees," he said.
Lorimer said the ANC was firmly on the side of workers' rights until it gets to illegal mining.
"By a lack of action we see they don’t care, but the abuses that go on are horrific. Children and young men are forced to work underground for weeks at a time and threatened with beatings or worse if they do not comply. I’ve heard stories of police acting as the zamas' enforcement arm. There are also complaints of children being trapped underground and used for prostitution," he said.
ANC MP Mikateko Golden Mahlaule said the government was sympathetic to the social issues driving illegal mining.
"The ANC government does not tolerate illegal mining, which is associated with violence, and criminal syndicates. The recent incident in Krugersdorp bears testimony that illegal mining does not deliver any socio-economic benefits to South Africa apart from proliferating criminal syndicates with human trafficking, drug smuggling and money laundering, and illegal immigration," he said.
Furthermore, Mahlaule said there was a false narrative that the ANC can't address illegal mining.
"This does not allow for a mature conversation about illegal mining and its economic and social impact. The blame instinct, of the opposition parties, not only denies us the opportunity to think creatively about solutions, it also prevents us from using our energy in the right places. In illegal mining there is an extensive network of offshore accounts and transnational criminal syndicates," he said.
In August, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe told the National Council of Provinces that the country needed a dedicated team to clamp down on illegal mining in the country.
This came on the back of violent protests that erupted recently in Gauteng's West Rand, sparked by the gang rape of eight women in Krugersdorp, allegedly by suspected illegal miners.
The women were raped while filming a music video at a Krugersdorp mine dump.
Locals claim that illegal miners have terrorised their area for years, and community members have now resorted to raiding the shacks of suspected zama zamas (illegal miners).
The Minerals Council South Africa estimates that lost sales, taxes and royalties amount to R21 billion a year through illegal mining, while a 2019 report by Enact, a project of the Institute for Security Studies, Interpol and the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime, estimated that zama zama outputs exceed R14 billion annually, making South Africa one of the biggest sources of illicit gold in Africa.
IFP MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa said illegal mining operations did not occur in silos.
"These operations expose society to many other illicit activities which affect people, communities and the environment," he said.