Communities call for overhaul of mining system amidst widespread fraud and neglect

By Johnathan Paoli

A report released by Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) has sent shockwaves through South Africa’s mining sector, laying bare a systemic failure of governance, transparency and justice.

At the launch event and panel discussion in Johannesburg, Macua leaders and civil society experts called for a total overhaul of South Africa’s mining governance, with national secretary Gift Radebe lambasting the Mineral Resources and Energy Department for failing to provide effective oversight.

“Inspections are superficial, and decisions are made without community input,” said Radebe. “What we’re dealing with is not inefficiency, it’s a system built to exclude,” Radebe said.

The report, titled: “Crumbs Capture: When Even the Scraps Are Stolen”, details extensive corruption, broken promises and state complicity in the looting of funds meant to benefit the country’s most marginalised communities.

Compiled through extensive audits across 11 mining-affected communities, it paints a damning picture. Over R376 million