THE families of dozens of illegal mineworkers whose bodies were recovered from a disused Stilfontein, North West, gold mine are planning to sue the government for damages, according to their legal representatives.

The mineworkers, colloquially referred to as zama zamas, have been holed up underground for months and reported that several of their colleagues died due to starvation.

According to the General Industries Workers Union of SA (Giwusa), 78 bodies were recovered from the mine after the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, ordered rescue operations to commence last weekend.

Giwusa president Mametlwe Sebei said a case would be brought by the Mining Affected Communities United in Action in which the organisation wants the government held responsible for the deaths.

He said the Constitutional Court case was still at the exchange of correspondences between parties and requests for direction from the apex court to determine if all issues have been exhausted.

”We are just trying to finalise (the) existing Constitutional Court and Pretoria High Court cases, but also issues of medical care for the survivors and handover of bodies of the deceased miners to their families at the same time as assembling evidence for criminal charges and possible civil claims,” Sebei explained.

Giwusa has also called for a commission of inquiry to be set up after the horrific revelations emerging from Stilfontein.

”We demand an independent commission of inquiry to fully investigate the events leading to the massacre, the conditions underground, and the actions of all responsible parties; to ensure accountability and hold government officials, police leadership, industry actors, and even morally bankrupt media outlets criminally accountable,” the union stated.

In addition, Giwusa is demanding meaningful and swift outcomes that honour the victims and prevent future tragedies.

The commission, according to the union, should also look into just solutions to the unregulated explosion of artisanal mining, the crisis of thousands of abandoned mines, the potential for creation of decent jobs, and the alleviation of poverty in distressed mining towns affected by mine closures.

”The regulation and management of the industry should also be considered particularly owing to universal non-compliance with social, and labour plans committing corporations to community upliftment and economic development as well as environmental obligations,” Giwusa added.

The zama zamas have been trapped underground since July last year following the establishment of the police’s Operation Vala Umgodi, which Giwusa blames for destroying community-led rescue initiatives and blocking life-saving supplies, resulting in starvation, dehydration, and deaths from hazardous conditions.

The SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), of which Giwusa is an affiliate, has promised that if pathological tests confirm that starvation was the cause of death, it will spare no effort in ensuring that those responsible within the government are held accountable.

”South Africa is not a banana republic where the state can act with impunity. The Constitution and international law demand justice, and Saftu will fight for it,” the federation’s general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, said this week.

Vavi continued: “We will continue to advocate for the rights of all workers, documented or undocumented, and for a government that respects human dignity and life. The right to life is non-negotiable, and Saftu will not rest until justice is served.”

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said the government was unsure about the number of zama zamas still underground.

He said the police had given themselves 10 days to retrieve the zama zamas from Monday this week and would assess the situation at the end of the period.

Mchunu said this was not the time to be judgmental of the government before the full picture emerged.

Police are waiting for pathologists to determine the causes of the deaths of the 78 zama-zamas, according to the minister.

”Let’s wait until we retrieve all the bodies,” he said.

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has indicated that he has no sympathy for the zama-zamas trapped at the Stilfontein mine.

Mining companies are required to contribute an adequate amount to the Mine Rehabilitation Fund but Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe is allowed to use his department’s financial provisions to rehabilitate a mine where an owner had failed to do so.

According to the department, there are a total of 6 000 old mines falling under the category of derelict and ownerless mines that are being rehabilitated.

The government requires an estimated R49 billion to rehabilitate the estimated 6000 abandoned mine sites across the country.

Earlier this week, Mchunu said the government’s stance was collaborating and working together with all interested parties to resolve the situation.

He said Operation Vala Umgodi was never designed to directly or indirectly indicate that the government was unwilling to assist people to go out of the Stilfontein mine.

loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za