EFF calls for thorough investigation into Jagersfontein disaster
|Published
On Sunday, members of the community were evacuated after the walls of the mine dam burst, leaving two people dead and scores of others homeless.
SIYABONGA SITHOLE
Johannesburg - The EFF has called on the government to thoroughly investigate the cause of the disaster in the Jagersfontein mining community of the Free State.
On Sunday, members of the community were evacuated after the walls of the mine dam burst, leaving two people dead and scores of others homeless. More than 50 homes were damaged due to the mudslide and many others were reported missing.
On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the community and promised that the government would prioritise rebuilding the homes of those affected. Ramaphosa said the government of the country would not abandon the affected community.
“We’re going to investigate, but for now, let us focus on restoring the livelihoods of our people here, with immediate effect. This includes businesses. We are also going to look into whose businesses have been affected and how we're going to support (them)," Ramaphosa said during his visit.
On Monday, the EFF called for mine bosses to account for the damage following reports that warnings about impending disaster had been sounded since 2020, with the owners of the mine allegedly not heeding them.
“This disaster confirms our long-standing stance that there are much bigger and more urgent issues in the mining industry that the government has refused to attend to. Instead, they have opted to use our people’s frustration by creating an impression that they are doing something by clamping down on illegal miners, an act that is insignificant in the bigger scheme of things. Especially when it was never cited as one of the reasons South Africa has over the years spiralled down to number 10 on the world’s worst mining areas to invest in. The EFF further calls on the authorities to thoroughly investigate the cause of the disaster and hold mining licence holders fully accountable for all the damages incurred by the people of Jagersfontein. Those who have lost their houses must receive houses within a reasonable time frame and not be subjected to community halls and strange accommodation as is the norm following a disaster of this magnitude,” the EFF said.
The party further called for a hasty relocation programme to places of safety as well as psychological support to the victims, adding that it was capitalistic interests that have contributed to the disaster, especially in the hands of foreign mining houses who do not care about the poor people of this country.
It is expected that on Tuesday, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe will visit the area to assess the extent of the damage.