The Ghost Town Manifesto

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "The Ghost Town Manifesto"

Buddy Dorsey
5 years ago
Views:

1 4406 Nelson Mandela Street Kokosi Location FOCHVILLE 2515 Cell: The Ghost Town Manifesto We, the community members of Merafong, a major host city of mining operations in South Africa; Inspired by a vision of creating enabling socio economic conditions in our community, and collectively mobilised to ensure the livelihood and environmental sustainability of our city, independent of mining, speak with one voice through this manifesto. We present this manifesto as a memorandum of grievances against all mining houses operating in Merafong, collectively represented by the Chamber of Mines of South Africa. We note that: Merafong City is geographically located in the Western Region of the Witwatersrand Main Gold Reef and its active and dormant mining operational sites represent a significant market share of the South African gold production industry. The gold mining sector and service providers to the industry account for more than sixty percent of Merafong s gross domestic product and employment. The advent of mining became the dawn of South African s industrial revolution and indeed Africa s largest and wealthiest economy is build on the foundation of minerals exploration and production, this positions mining as a major socio economic contributor through tax revenue, labour intensive

2 employment, foreign direct investment, shareholder value creation and as well as through foreign currency earnings. Minerals production is a sunset industry; profitable and safely exploitable mineral deposits are depleting and furthermore statistics reveal that South Africa s gold miners have been in production volume decline for an extended period since the peak levels last seen in the 1970 s. The ratification of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002 and the subsequent adoption of the Mining Empowerment Charter in the year 2004 served as groundbreaking political resolve towards comprehensively transforming the minerals industry to achieve our constitutional justice aspirations. Host communities are directly and indirectly exposed to the industrial footprint of mining operations; this has led to health burdens, environmental decay, skills deficits, as well as housing and land challenges. The possibility of Merafong becoming an economic ghost town beyond the life span of mining in our community is a real threat. Mines in Merafong own the majority of land and property in entire City. Although the Act and the Charter recognise the unique challenges of mining hosting communities, the voice of these communities has been largely in the periphery of the minerals policy development framework. We believe that: The South African constitution, the supreme law of the land guarantees all her children socio economic rights and responsibilities in pursuit of the ideals enshrined there in. The minerals deposits of our land is the wealth of all South Africans and its exploitation must primarily serve our shared developmental aspirations. The historically accumulated and persisting negative impact of mining on socio economic and environmental sustainability of hosting communities calls for targeted interventions to mitigate the emergence of mining socioeconomic ghost towns when operations cease to exist.

3 The policy outlook that seeks to create synergy between mines social plans and Local Government Integrated Development plans has been the main source of mines failing to meet the dictates of the Act and the Charter with respect to hosting communities development. The lack of clearly set out investment targets in the Act and the Charter on the subject of hosting communities development undermines accountability and has offered mining houses an unwritten escape clause. Broad based black economic empowerment has failed Merafong s Community and benefited a few wealthy black elites. We acknowledge that mining is responsible for these challenges in our community: High levels of unemployment and poverty in Merafong as a result of their mass migrant labour employment policies denying locals employment opportunities. Bribes for jobs have been institutionalised in the mines that operate in our community. The dramatic spread of HIV/AIDS in our community is as a result of the mass migrant labour regime and the males only hostels accommodation system. The sustainability of our agricultural production, our bio diversity and water resources security is continuously degraded by the large industrial footprint of mining production and mine dumps in our community. The dolomatic red zones that exist in our community are further made a real human threat by underground mining activity. Housing and basic services burden in our community is further answerable to, by mining houses due to their migrant labour employment policy. We are resolved to say Mines are failing to observe the Act and the Charter on the subject of hosting communities hence making them illegal miners and threatening the sustainability of our community.

4 We propose that: A 50:50 employment quota for local residents of Merafong and must be achieved in the next five year cycle of the Mining Empowerment Charter. The culture of JOBS FOR SALE must end in all mining operations and Unions officials must not be used as recruiters. Mining houses must invest in the social infrastructure of our communities such as our schools, our clinics, sports facilities and people development centres. A mandatory percentage figure vis à vis the profit of mines must be legislated for purposes of reinvestment into mining hosting communities. The doors of technical skills development training centres that mines run must be open to suitably qualified young people of Merafong so as to impart artisan skills to locals. Mining houses must avail suitable land to promote medium and small scale farming as well as large scale agricultural industry to ensure development independent of mining. The environmental rehabilitation of dormant and active operational mine dumps must be undertaken by all mines operating in Merafong. Learnerships and bursaries that Mines in Merafong offer must be biased to grade 12 graduates of Merafong. Mining houses in Merafong must financial and technically support new and sustainable enterprises to ensure future jobs security in Merafong. The people of Merafong City must be beneficiaries of the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment initiatives in the next phase of the Charter implementation. 50% of the revenue that comes from mining royalties must be used to develop mining host communities. Mining houses must not contract labour brokers as they employ illegal immigrants whose human rights are daily exploited.

5 Mining males only hostels must be abolished for a community friendly housing solution. We call for all mining stakeholders to implement the minerals beneficiation strategy and develop a robust value adding industry in hosting communities. A Minerals Regional Development Agency for the West Rand that will develop a sustainable integrated development strategy of the region must be established. The agency must be representative of government, mines, labour and communities. The agency must consultatively align Social Plans of Mines and Local Government Integrated Development Plans. The Agency must ensure accountability and be the competent authority on issuing Social Licenses to operators. We are resolved on the above and failing any tangible and qualitative outcomes from the mining houses we will: Lobby our government not issue social licenses to mining houses in Merafong and declare them illegal miners. We will also create an unharmonious operational environment for the mining houses located in our demarcation. Minerals For Human Development

Extractive industries and sustainable job creation

UNCTAD 17th Africa OILGASMINE, Khartoum, 23-26 November 2015 Extractive Industries and Sustainable Job Creation Extractive industries and sustainable job creation By Vic van Vuuren, Director, Technical