A C T! O N TA L K South Africa 2016 February Issue Systematic Inequality Addressing unemployment is not only about economics Farmers say women get raped when they collect water Inside ActionAid South Africa s Board visit a mining affected community in Mpumalanga 1. 1
Systematic Inequality Re be re bolaya mabele! [We used to harvest a lot!] Re be re eja! [we used to eat!] 22 Years after the election of the first democratic state and 13 years after a new mining regime was legislated in South Africa, the community of Mapela, on the outskirts of Mokopane in Limpopo, are still trapped in a system that has by most accounts, continued the legacy of apartheid and dispossession well after the promised liberation from an oppressive yolk. In our preliminary research report entitled Precious Metals II- A systemic Inequality, we argue that this reality is not an oversight or a merely the slow maturation of a long term liberation project, but rather a systemic crises which permeates out from the very mechanisms and institutions introduced to overcome the inequality of the past. Our report seeks to answer the question of why those who used to harvest and eat, are today less secure, more vulnerable and increasingly unable to claim their human rights. The study was initiated by ActionAid South Africa (AASA) as a follow up to the study we did in the villages of Mokopane in 2008. During that study, AASA found a number of human rights violations against the people of Mapela villages, and who live in the shadows of the most profitable platinum mine in the world, AngloPlatinum`s Mogalakena Mine. As a response to our study, and following an investigation by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), Anglo Platinum accused AASA of producing the report from a particular ideological standpoint [1]. In response 1. 2 PART 1 Christopher Rutledge to our report the SAHRC, in their report on the human rights situation facing the communities of Mapela, the then Chairperson of the SAHRC, Jody Kollapen, argued that the impact of business can not always be determined at one point in time like a snapshot, but is often more accurately reflected over a period of time. It was for this reason that AASA sought to engage a credible academic institution to provide a balanced and nuanced account of the impacts of Anglo`s operations on the communities of Mokopane. The findings confirm our concerns that not only is the mining regime in South Africa grossly skewed against the interests of communities who host mining operations, but also confirms that over the intervening period, that the conditions for the communities of Mapela have not improved but in most instances deteriorated, while our constitutionally mandated institutions sit by and allow the continued violations of human rights The research study by the Society Work and Development Institute (SWOP) of the University of Witwatersrand investigated the impact of Anglo American Platinum s (Amplats) Mogalakwena mine in the Langa Mapela traditional authority area in the Limpopo province, South Africa. It focussed on livelihoods, food security and the environmental rights. The report goes on to say we also investigated the efforts by local communities to defend and reclaim these rights in the face of mining expansion. Click here to continue >>> Photo AASA
Farmers say women get raped when they collect water Photo Katherine V Robinson Women get raped when they collect water Anah Maemu, woman farmer in Tshiombo Anah Maemu started farming on her plot in Tshiombo Village in the Limpopo Province in South Africa in 1969. Anah, who is now 85-years-old, grows pumpkin, corn, tomatoes and sweet potato. She began farming to ensure she could feed her family and ensure they could attend school though the selling any excess produce. In 2016, the plot continues to feed her three children, along with her six grandchildren and four great grandchildren, who attend Tshiombo Primary School where they learn agroecology as part of the schools nutrition programme, initiated by ActionAid South Africa s partner Xihlobo. Her grandchildren and great grandchildren apply their skills to their Anah s plot, helping her with fertilizing, watering and ploughing. I want these children to become good farmers in the future, says Anah. She also added that Xihlobo has helped her by hosting workshops on how to better take care of crops. Anah says that her biggest challenge is water, not only because of the drought but a lack of water management. She explained that the canal water is empty by morning because people up stream have already used all the water released by those controlling the dam water. We spend our evenings waiting to collect water, so we can irrigate crops in the morning. Many women get raped. Anah says that the community needs better water management so women can irrigate their crops without having to collect water late at night. 1. 3
ActionAid South Africa Board visit a mining affected community in Mpumalanga By Fatima Shabodien Photo AASA In February the ActionAid South Africa advisory board held our quarterly board meeting in Witbank Mpumalanga to combine the meeting with a field visit to better understand the AASA extractives programme work in the area.the field trip started off at the offices of the our partner the South African Green Revolutionary Council (SAGRC, where we were briefed on the context of coal mining in the area and its impacts on communities by the SAGRC coordinator, Mathews Hlabane. The briefing was followed by visits to a number of mining-affected communities in the area, including engagement with members of the communities. The livelihood struggles reported on were vast, and included: water, soil land and water polllution, access to schools for children, the safety of women and children, large scale unemployment due to mine closures, and unaccountable local government. The communities we engaged with all live within a stones throw of active mines and carry the social, environmental and health costs of these industries. We also had the opportunity to visit communities who live on and around massive coal dust mountains, within which several underground fires burn and sinkholes appear with no warning. Beyond the work in this specific area, the Board also learnt about the important work that the AASA mining and extractives unit and about the progress made over the last two years. The visit was both sobering and inspiring.we were inspired by the fighting spirit of those we met even in the face of desperate living cognitions and left even more committed than ever to support local struggles for justice in these and other communities. 1. 4
AMI Alternative Mining Indaba: ActionAid South Africa Photo AASA By Christopher Rutledge ActionAid South Africa (AASA) will be accompanying leadership from both our partners Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) and Women Affected by Mining United in Action (WAMUA) to the 7th annual Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI), running from Monday 8 10 February, in Cape Town. The AMI, runs parallel to the official Cape Town Mining Indaba, and thus serves as an alternate space for mining affected communities across Southern Africa and beyond, to debate and critique the socio-economic costs and consequences of mining on our citizens and environment, and to develop and articulate alternatives to the profit-driven mining regimes which currently proliferate across the continent. Having worked with mining communities across South Africa over the past decade, AASA aims to work with mining affected communities to build a movement that will act as voice for effective policy regulation and governance and to offer a counter balance to the unequal power relations in the sector. AASA also recognises the unequal gender relations within mining and encourages a feminist agenda in the hope that communities take up women s issues in mining communities, and to articulate the demands of women for a just and accountable extractives industry. Fatima Shabodien, AASA s Country Director says, Women s voices, participation and leadership, like in most sectors of society, remains glaringly missing in the mining industry, yet women shoulder the brunt of mining s unjust burdens in and outside the sector. It s very obvious that the existing mining model doesn t work for the majority of our country, and it s also not just about inserting women and their voices into the system, but about finding a fundamentally different way of mining and extractives in our country and on our continent. AASA believes that long-term sustainable change is only possible if efforts for change place women, youth and children who live in poverty at its centre. AASA sees its role as one of enabling, and supporting the efforts of those who live in poverty to lead change on their own behalf and will work to unlock the agency of women, youth, and children to bring about change in approaches to poverty eradication and justice in South Africa. Christopher Rutledge AASA s Mining and Extractives Coordinator will be a part of the Artisanal and Small Scale Mining Panel discussion and he will also be there to present the preliminary findings of AASA s latest research report on mining in South Africa. The report is a follow up to the 2006 Precious Metal Report. Precious Metal II - A Systemic Inequality, outlines a longitudinal case study of the systemic nature of human rights abuses in the villages of Mapela who live in the shadow of AngloPlats Mogalakwena mine in Mokopane Limpopo. I think sharing these findings at the AMI is critical as we often lose sight of the systemic nature of the challenges that we face in the mining sector. The solutions we work towards cannot be piecemeal and must include a seismic shift in policy and legislative frameworks, explained 1. 5
Olerato Masime Activista going to Mt Kenya Global Platforms Course O lerato Masime who is a member of the Activista programme in South Africa will be attending a global citizen s course in Mt. Kenya for 3 Months. The Global Citizen Course is a 16 week long training, which consists of a mixture of classroom sessions, tool based workshops, field excursions, outdoor activities, group discussions, tours, travels and fun activities. Activista SA is proud of O lerato Activista participate on the ActionAid International Youth Report Activista South Africa participated on a youth report that was conducted by Activista international. The Youth Discuss consultation and research project was carried out during December 2015 and January 2016 with the objective of hearing direct from young people globally about the issues they face and how ActionAid can better engage in and support the local and national rights struggles they fight. One day focus group workshops heard direct from Activista teams and grassroots youth activists from partner organisations in six of ActionAid s identified pilot youth countries namely El Salvador (combined with Honduras and Nicargua, The Gambia, Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Zambia and Zimbabwe. An online survey was also utilised to reach a wider mainstream youth audience from countries including Kenya and Ghana. By Mbuso Ice Ngubane Photo by Katherine V Robinson By Mbuso Ice Ngubane Photo by Tinashe Padare Photo by Mbuso Ice Ngubane By Mbuso Ice Ngubane Critical Society Decolonisation Critical, society is an open platform within ActionAid South Africa which enables members of staff to share and critically engage on key issues within society. The 2016 Critical Society series, focuses on the decolonisation project, it was kick started this month (March) with Mining and Extractive Coordinator, Christopher Rutledge. Christopher facilitated a dynamic session on the history of colonisation in Africa and the beginnings of decolonisation. One of the AASA staff shared her view regarding the topic she said Decolonisation is the process of reclaiming one s mind, land and resources, held captive for far too long by colonisers and capitalists alike. Critical society is continuing with jam packed topics, themed under decolonisation if you are interested to know more about critical society you can email Fatima.vally@actionaid.org or mbuso.ngubane@actionaid.org Contributions Mbuso Ice Ngubane Tinashe Padare Naledi Mazibuko Katherine V Robinson Fatima Shabodien Christopher Rutledge Layout/Design Mbuso Ice Ngubane 1. 6 Follow us Click on the following Account to follow us
ActionAid South Africa a training camp for young girls. By Naledi Mazibuko Photo by Naledi Mazibuko The Umvoti District Municipality in Greytown, Kwa- Zulu-Natal has a high rate of teenage pregnancy compared to the district municipalities under the UMzinyathi District. Having engaged statistics from the Department of Health, ActionAid South Africa (AASA) worked collaboratively with Umvoti Aids Centre to tackle issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Both AASA and Umvoti Aids Centre recognize that to ensure better health outcomes for women and girls, individual needs cannot be addressed in isolation from broader circumstantial factors and unequal social issues that limit their decision-making.aasa recently helped host a training camp for young girls with the aim of empowering them with knowledge and information about their rights, so they are better able to make wise and informed decisions about their sexuality and their futures.the training on SRHR teaches girls about contraception and safe sex to ensure a reduction of HIV infections and teenage pregnancies amongst young girls. Fifty girls between the ages of 13 to 16 years attended the camp, while AASA and Umvoti Aids Centre invited guest speakers from different organisations and government departments. These included the Department of Health; Umvoti Municipality; Isibindi Network; National Association of Child Care Workers (NACCW); Khulisa Social Solutions; Children in Distress (CINDI); and Little Elephant Training Centre for Early Education (LETCEE). Fifteen year old Lindelwa Ngubane, one of the girls who attended the camp said that trainings like these have the potential to change girls lives, while Nobuhle Mchunu thanked AASA for the initiative saying, I am very happy and grateful to ActionAid South Africa for sending us to this camp. It has changed and challenged my thinking ability. Sorry no job Addressing unemployment is not only about economics Illustration by Mbuso ice Ngubane By Mbuso Ice Ngubane I went to visit a group of young people who we work with in Orange Farm under Activista. My heart dropped when the Activista team and I listened to their stories about how unemployment affects their daily lives. Most of them complain that they spend their last few cents searching the internet for opportunities and applying online, but they never hear back. When these youth actively go out looking for a job, they are told, Sorry, no jobs. This negative answer creates and maintains major ripple effects in their day to day living. Unemployment has become almost pandemic over the past few years, and the youth are feeling the brunt of the problem. According to Stats South Africa, 63% of youth (people younger than 25-years-old) are unemployed. The overall unemployment rate in South Africa fell to 25% in 2015, a decrease from 35% in 1. 7 previous years. However, this decrease in unemployment does not take into account issues related to decent work and the fluctuating numbers of short-term contract work. A study of 180 countries published by the International Labor Organization estimates that in 2015, full-time employment represents less than one in four jobs. In South Africa, between 25% and 50% of workers are estimated to have temporary contracts, which Click here to continue >>>
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