By Akani Nkuna
President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged that the stand-off between police and illegal miners at Stilfontein in the North West be resolved peacefully and safely.
This follows tensions escalating after a body was dragged out of the mine last week after police decided to block entrances to stop food going to hundreds of illegal miners who are underground.
Over the weekend, the Gauteng North High Court ruled that emergency personnel must be allowed access to reach the illegal miners. Many of them are believed to be starving.
The president said in his weekly newsletter that while the area around the mine was a crime scene, police had to ensure that no one was hurt.
“The Stilfontein mine is a crime scene where the offence of illegal mining is being committed. It is standard police practice everywhere to secure a crime scene and to block off escape routes that enable criminals to evade arrest,” he said.
“In doing so, the police must take great care to ensure that lives are not put at risk and that the rights of all people are respected.”
The impasse has seen the country spilt on how the illegal miners, also known as zama-zamas should be treated.
So far more than 1000 of them have resurfaced since joint operation started around a month ago to force them out.
Ramaphosa said they had been assessed by medical personnel on site. Those in good health were detained and processed according to the law. Those who required medical care were taken to hospital under police guard.
He said the hazardous nature of illicit and unregulated mining posed considerable risk in terms of the presence of explosives, the inhalation of toxic fumes and the possible collapse of unstable mine shafts. This not only endangered illegal miners, but also the police and other law enforcement agencies.
Because of the many hazards such an operation posed, law enforcement agencies had been negotiating with the illegal miners since the stand-off began to get them to the surface and to safety.
“Police, mine safety experts and emergency and rescue personnel remain at the scene. The situation is precarious, uncertain and potentially volatile,” the president warned.
He said hazardous materials used by illegal miners endangered the health of neighbouring communities.
Last year, 16 people, including three children, were killed in an explosion in Boksburg in Gauteng linked to gas used by illegal miners to process gold. This was just one of many such accidents linked to illegal mining activity that has claimed the lives of both miners and innocent civilians.
“We need to be clear that the activities of these miners are illegal. They pose a risk to our economy, communities and personal safety.”
Ramaphosa said the police would carry out their duties and responsibilities to bring the illegal miners to the surface safely.
“They will do all they can to reduce the risk of harm to the miners and to our law enforcement officials,” he said.
And, the government would continue to work with the mining industry to ensure they took responsibility for rehabilitating or closing mines that were no longer operational.
“As a country committed to the rule of law and dedicated to upholding the human rights of all, we will continue to work towards a peaceful resolution of the stand-off at Stilfontein.”
INSIDE POLITICS
