The Department of Mineral Resources has been slammed for failing to prevent the deaths of two young siblings who drowned at an unused mine in Postmasburg on Sunday.
THE DEPARTMENT of Mineral Resources (DMR) has been slammed for failing to prevent the deaths of two siblings who drowned at an unused mine in Postmasburg on Sunday.
Various stakeholders have accused the department of tolerating the “continuous lawlessness” displayed by mines throughout the Northern Cape.
Two young children, 10-year-old Christolene Madebe and her eight-year-old brother Christopher, from Marantheng in Postdene, drowned in a water tank at Wes-Einde Diamond Mine at approximately 1.45pm on Sunday after going for a swim.
The Postmasburg police have opened an inquest docket following the deaths of the siblings.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Nomvuyo Makoloi said preliminary investigations revealed that three children, between the ages of eight and 12, went swimming in a water tank at the diamond mine.
Makoloi said the mine is situated next to an informal settlement.
“One boy was able to get out of the tank and reported the incident to the police. The police, with the assistance of community members, were able to retrieve the bodies of the two children, who were declared deceased on the scene. Sadly, the two deceased are believed to be siblings,” said Makoloi.
The police extended their gratitude to the community members who assisted in the recovery of the two victims.
The drownings got tongues wagging about the regulations governing operational and non-operational mines in the area.
It was revealed that the mine has not been operational but had permanent security guards stationed at the main gate. However, the other side of the mine was accessible after the fence was vandalised.
Some community members questioned why the children were on the premises, while others wanted to know why the mine was left in that state after it was closed.
The community slammed the “arrogance” displayed by many mines in terms of the regulations regarding rehabilitation processes after they closed down.
Some said that Tsantsabane Local Municipality, working hand-in-hand with the DMR, needed to use its local authority to protect its residents.
Tsantsabane Municipality spokesperson Buru Kekgopilwe said the municipality could do little to monitor the mining operations in its towns as compared to the DMR.
The mayor of Tsantsbane Municipality, Helena English, visited the bereaved family on Sunday afternoon to pay her condolences and start engagements with the family.
English said that counselling needed to be arranged for the mother of the children after she ran away after hearing the traumatic news that both of her children had died.
The mother was found hours later by a community search party, in the vicinity of where her children had died.
Kekgopilwe said investigations are still under way with the police and that they are still waiting to hear from the DMR as to why the mine did not meet the requirement of having the premises fenced off.
He said that there has still not been any response from the DMR following the incident.
He added that no one from the mine is answering their phone.
Tsantsabane Unemployment Business Forum (TUBF) chairperson and Save Tsantsabane Coalition (STC) councillor Michael Mabilo conveyed condolences to the bereaved family.
He expressed his disappointment in the DMR for failing to play its oversight role in regard to the mine.
Mabilo said the DMR was supposed to have started with site inspections in Tsantsabane, as per promises it made to different stakeholders who represent mineworkers and local communities, in April.
This was after mining trucks were brought to a standstill during protest action, after the community accused several mines of not adhering to legislative requirements in order to mine in the area.
Mabilo said a submission was made by the TUBF, calling for the DMR to intervene and play its oversight role of monitoring the mining operations.
The protest action only stopped after mines heeded the call to participate in round-table discussions, which resulted in a mining indaba that the local municipality, the DMR and the community were part of.
“Many of the mines have been operating for years without contributing to the municipality’s economy, while they were damaging the infrastructure and roads and leaving the town covered in dumps and no one was monitoring the situation,” said Mabilo.
“The local municipality had lost the battle of monitoring the mines to such an extent that it did not even have an accurate number of the operational mines, of which some continue to open on a daily basis.
“The municipality cant even intervene politically.
“Following the shutdown, we had a round-table discussion with the mines and the DMR. We called on the DMR to start implementing its duties.
“One of the resolutions was for the DMR to send its inspectors to start engaging with the mines within three months. That was four months ago, but we have not yet heard anything from the DMR,” said Mabilo.
Dirk Esau from the EFF said that Sunday’s tragic incident was further proof that the life of a black child does not matter to the mining corporations.
Esau said that the mine has been in existence from before he was born but he has never heard of any community upliftment coming from it.
He called for the permanent closure of the mine and for the mine to be held responsible for the lives lost.
“Compliance is minimal, as the only mining regulation guidelines that the mine is following is to guard the gate to control the entry by animals and people. It just shows that they don’t care about the community that stays right next to them. We are calling for stringent monitoring from the regulator, which is the DMR,” said Esau.
“They are pushing for profit. Rehabilitation has to be monitored and implemented. When the life of mining has ended they must make sure that everything goes back to normal and nature takes its course. But they don’t do it because there is no proper regulation; the DMR is failing Tsantsabane.”
The DA said it sympathised with the bereaved family and highlighted that it is critical that the unused mine complies with all prescribed regulations to ensure the safety of the surrounding community.
DA councillor in Tsantsabane, Marna van Zyl said all procedures needed to be followed given that the mine is situated next to an informal settlement.
Van Zyl said the DA will call on the DMR to urgently inspect the unused mine and ensure that the property, and especially water holes, are made inaccessible to the public and especially children.
“The DA will also raise the matter in council … Tsantsabane Municipality can play a more proactive role in inspecting high-risk areas and marking and securing unsafe spaces, to prevent further tragedy,” added Van Zyl.
“Children must be protected at all costs and we therefore also appeal to the affected community parents to unite in their efforts to keep a watchful eye over the children of Maranteng, Newtown.”
The DMR had not responded to media enquiries by the time of publication.
