MINING & ENVIRONMENT : THE WITBANK CASE
PRESENTATION TO THE MINERAL DEVELOPMENT DRAFT BILL WORKSHOP
BY MATTHEWS HLABANE, ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING GROUP
Honorable members of Parliament, MEETI and all participants in today's workshop, thank you for this opportunity I will always appreciate for it gives me chance to share with you our experiences and the problems we see as still to face the country for decades to come.
The challenge before us is the mineral development bill whose fate is contested by those who benefit in the form of profits and those who don't. For us as communities it is our experiences informing our input and not some un-proven technical knowledge of the industry.
Good people I come from Witbank the Coal City of South Africa. To capture all the social and environmental problems caused by mining is difficult as these problems continue to multiply with every expansion of intensive mining. Allow me to share with you that Witbank has been turned into hell on earth.
Since the beginning of systematic mining in 1896, only the economic benefits have been over emphasized and placed before everything. Because of the rush for profits the people and the environment had to pay the costs. Witbank is dominated by a number of abandoned coal mines which started burning in the 1930's and continue to burn until today, the ground is subsiding and Acid Mine Drainage is generated in Witbank affecting the Brugspruit, Kiipspruit and the Olifants river To mention some of the problematic mines is not to leave out T&DB, Coronation, Station, Middelburg Steam, Witbank, etc.
Most of these mines are found within 500 meters from residential areas (Township), it is therefore our poor community members who suffer, those who don't work can't afford electricity and are forced to collect wood and coal from the discard dumps. Particularly in winter hundreds of women flock to the dumps for coal. We have had a number of incidences where people fall-in and get burned, the recent one happened on the 4th January 2001 when a hip of discard coal collapsed and killed two boys both aged 10 yrs.
On housing, it is a known fact that companies during the apartheid days promoted isolated mine villages and mine hostels. Some of these villages had facilities (sporting, hospitals, etc.) not accessible but much needed by the broader community. This has caused tensions between the community and the people living in those villages.
Retrenchments, most people believe that solutions to un-employment are easy to find through some SMME's. What is not spoken most is the dependency on mining that has been created over decades. Retrenchment add to the socio, economic and environmental problems in this country. As mentioned earlier, most of the retrench workers stay in mine houses, hostels and some in bond houses. The implication is that the one retrenched is supposed to evacuate the house or get evicted.
Those retrenched will then have to squat around Witbank, some of them migrant workers who stay with the hope of finding another employment. This add pressure on the local authorities and the situation is such that you find ex-mine workers staying on subsiding and burning ground - which is a shame to the mining industry.
The mining industry has always been associated with the poor culture of consultation, information sharing and effective participation by the interested and affected parties. This always give the industry more chances to manupulate government officials because communities are not there to protect themselves.
Mining companies continue to do blasting near residential areas, vibration causes house cracks, whilst dust particles fly high looking more like nuclear bomb testing area.
ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION
Environment - it is a proper thing to refer to a one stop shop for mining industry, as for fairness, it is no justice to be a player and a key referee at the same time, this creates conflict of interests, we need to build the capacity of communities and other government agencies to monitor and implement environmental laws in accordance to the principles of NEMA and the Water Act.
Voluntary (Self) Monitoring - history has shown that in the end we cannot entrust the protection of the public water resources, our health and eco-system to the private interests of the mining companies. We need a clear community and government partnership in monitoring on regular basis and in effecting laws to penalize those committing crime.
Abandoned Mines - The current bonding system is not catering for the abandoned mines in that money is supposed to be allocated by the government, an ideal situation is for the establishment of a mine rehabilitation fund by the government and mining houses so as not to take time in making our living surrounding better.
Capacity and Awareness - More attention must be placed on building our capacity to fix existing problems through participatory programs involving community members as this will leave the skill with the community so as to can deal with future demanding situations.
Points to remember:
Through all the ways mining damage our environment, water contamination with heavy metals, acid mine drainage, sedimentation and water consumption and aquifer depletion.
Mining is a dangerous and unhealthy business. Mining will endanger public health, the natural environment and the quality of life in an increasing number of communities if steps are not taken now.
''Mining unearths mineral compounds and metals that were deposited in place, in an oxygen free environment and have been buried for millions of years. The opening of a mine, whether that mine be surface or underground, is similar in many ways to digging into a sealed toxic waste dump" Tom Aley and Wigus Creath.
The only thing I see daily is the sustainable fires and subsidence in Witbank, indicating clearly that some of our economic activities are acts of vandalism to nature and that we can disappear and not be traceable. Good people can't we make the face of this mining look better. Rushed and poor planning ,location and design work can produce pollution time bombs, such as AMI) which develop years after the mine ceases operation. Once they develop, these problems can be impossible to stop.
PARLIAMENTARY PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON MINERALS AND ENERGY
BRIEFING ON THE MINERAL DEVELOPMENT DRAFT BILL
MINERAL RIGHTS AND TRADITIONAL COMMUNITIES
Presented by: Hosi Shilungwamhinga II of the Mhinga Tribe - Northern Province
INTRODUCTION:
I want to thank members of the Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy for having given me the opportunity to address this Honourable Parliamentary Committee this morning.
I also want to thank all officials from the MINERAL AND ENERGY POLICY CENTRE for having made it possible for me to be here in Cape Town today coming all the way from the
Northern Province, which, by the way, is the Province of Peace!
For those who care to know, I am a Traditional Leader by birth, a Lawyer by Profession and I am here to talk about Mineral Rights and Traditional Communities. I am also the General Secretary of Contralesa i.e. The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa, as well as the Deputy President of The Mineral Rights Association of the Indigenous People of South Africa. However, let me hasten to point out that I am not here representing the above two organizations - but I am here in my personal capacity to share with you my views on the question of Mineral Rights - especially as it affects Traditional Communities.
Chairperson, Traditional Communities are the most disadvantaged members of the South African Society. I do not want to bore you with the History of our Country, I think it is common course to all of you that Traditional Communities were the first to fight the wars of resistance against colonization. It is also common course that Traditional Communities eventually lost the battle and in that way they also lost the land. It was as a result of the defeat of the Traditional Communities that our Kings came together in 1909 to try and find a common solution to the question of land dispossession - and eventually a Black Political Organization was formed in 1912 and was called the African National Congress.
Chairperson, you will recall that early in the 1900's - the Colonial Government established two Commissions to deal amongst others, with the question of Land Ownership by Blacks. These two Commissions were known as the Native Affairs Commission and the Native Location Commission, commonly known as the Lagden Commission, of 1903 and 1905 respectively. These are the Commissions that gave rise to the 1913 Land Act. As you know Blacks were restricted to 13% of the Land - but not only that the said Commissions went further to deny Blacks from owning Mineral Rights on those locations that were created.
Chairpersons, you will therefore observe from the above scenario that the majority of the Black Communities of this country have never ever had the right to own the right to own the Land, let alone the Mineral Rights over their land. As we are here today, discussing this Draft Bill, 90% of the 13% of the land that is occupied by Black Communities is still being held in Trust by the State - and in my view - even if or when these Communities eventually get transfer of the land - the State will still be retaining Mineral Rights to itself in terms of this Draft Bill.
With the dawn of democracy in this Country, the Rural Communities were hopeful that eventually they will reap the benefits that democracy has brought to our land, such benefits include, amongst others, the right to own land together with its Mineral Rights!
In my view, the most important advantage of owning Mineral Rights by the Traditional Community is that the Community will negotiate from a position of strength with any Mining Company for a fair deal. The Communities will enter into joint -ventures with the Mining Companies of their choice - and the whole Community will benefit not only from the royalties that the Company will pay, but the Community will also share in the profit. Such a Community will then address the social needs of its people by building schools, clinics, roads and provide water and sanitation for the whole Community. The Royal Bafokeng is a shinning example of what a Traditional Community can do with such resources as Mineral Rights! In a Traditional Community, it is not the individual or the Traditional Leader, but it is the whole Community that benefits. Therefore - the question of self-enrichment does not arise - unlike in some of the "so - called Black Empowerment Companies'' that we have seen! We see Government's role as that of being the regulator - that must create the frame - work within which the Mining Industry must grow. Government must not be the referee, the player, and the spectator, in the Mining Industry - rather it should be the referee and must get its revenue from the taxes that will be levied. Besides, One of the Governments' policies is to privatise Governments' institutions. By keeping Mineral Rights to itself- my view is that Government is actually nationalizing rather than privatising Mineral Rights!
Chairperson, let me conclude by expressing my view on the question of Lebowa Minerals Trust. In my view the Trust was flawed from inception in that it did not represent the beneficiaries that it sought to represent - none of the Traditional Communities were represented in the Board. The Board never accounted to its beneficiaries and the beneficiaries received very little if anything at all! In my view, the Trust should not have been abolished - but should have been restructured -just like any other parastatal - so as to represent the Traditional Communities of the whole Northern Province. In that way, the Northern Province - which is said to be one of the poorest Provinces - would have benefited from the Mineral Resources that LMT had. Besides - the abolishing of LMT was, in my view, premature as the whole question of Mineral Development is still being discussed. The Communities in the Northern Province are more disadvantaged by the abolishment of the Lobowa Minerals Trust.