GroundUp reports that under the banner of Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), about 100 activists picketed, sang and toyi-toyied outside Parliament on Tuesday, while they waited for officials to receive their memorandum.
Members of the Alternative Information and Development Center, the Social Justice Coalition, Intlungu yaseMatyotyombeni Movement, the SA Federation of Trade Unions, Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education, and the Western Cape Pickers Forum also joined the protest. But no official came forward. The protesters had come from Limpopo, Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and North West provinces. They wanted the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to see to it that mining communities were meaningfully consulted, and that prior and informed consent was received for mining operations, said MACUA’s national co-ordinator Meshack Mbangula. In a press release, MACUA and Women Affected by Mining United in Action (WAMUA) said: “In 2020, MACUA and WAMUA delivered 50,000 signatures of affected community members to Parliament … Throughout 2021, we have sent email after email, memorandum after memorandum”. But there has apparently been no response from Parliament. “We need a permanent platform where we can continuously give reports to the Department of Mineral Resources about these problems and where we continuously hold mining companies accountable for mining related problems,” MACUA general secretary Tokelo Mahlakoane stated.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Vincent Lali at GroundUp
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