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The Sunday Independent reports that the community of GaMolekana in Limpopo has accused Mogalakwena Mine of holding back young people who matriculated with maths and physical sciences by not doing enough to empower them with skills. The community says the mine is taking promising students and making them drive trucks instead of training them to become engineers.
“People who obtained good marks are made to drive trucks while we expected to be engineers,” says Esrom Masenya.
The move has left others wondering what kind of jobs they will be able to do in the mine if those with such qualifications are drivers.
Sello Mashalla, who has been applying for a job for a number of years, says he was afraid that he would never get employed.
“Time is not on my side. I’m getting old and they are not hiring us. There are people with drivers licences but they are not hired to be drivers because we are told they want people who passed matric with maths and science. We always thought that such requirements are for engineering jobs,” he says.
Mine spokesperson Mpumi Sithole has defended the move, insisting that the minimum entry requirement for a truck driver at Anglo American Platinum’s Mogalakwena Mine is matric, preferably with maths and science.
“To ensure the highest level of safety, our trucks are installed with electronic devices.
“However, these trucks still require an operator who is expected to interpret situations and act swiftly. With continued technological advancements our current operators will have to be reskilled and retrained,” she says.
Sithole adds that they are not only restricting them from driving but encouraging them to further their studies and acquire the skills required in the workplace.
“Our operators are encouraged to further advance their skills through a number of mining and engineering courses. These can be facilitated by our Training & Development department, through external institutions, or through our very own Engineering Skills Training Centre.”
Another issue of contention for the community is the lack of transformation in the mine. They claim the majority of managers are white and there is no one from the local villages in a managerial position.
In response, Sithole says employment equity at the mine is currently at 40% historically disadvantaged South Africans, with 23% women. She failed to answer the question relating to how many of those in management were locals.
The original of this report by Karabo Ngoepe appeared on page 7 of The Sunday Independent of 8 July 2018
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