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Houses seen next to mines.
A report released by the Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) has found that Parliament’s mining portfolio committee and the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) have failed to hold mining companies accountable for failing to keep promises made to mining communities.
The report titled Looted Promises: The Crumbs Economy of Mining, which is the result of a three-year study, also found that the 11 mining companies audited around the country have failed to implement employment and developmental projects promised to surrounding mining communities.
MACUA’s Executive Director, Christopher Rutledge says, “These crumbs that we’re talking about amount to less than 0.1 percent of the profits that are generated by these 11 companies. But out of those crumbs, 80 percent of those crumbs are stolen, or looted, or misdirected, and we’re saying that is a serious problem because we have an unemployment problem in South Africa; we have a developmental problem in South Africa. So, the funds that are dedicated to developing poor, marginalised communities are being looted and we’ve told the Department of Mineral Resources, we’ve told Parliament, we’ve told the Hawks, and the state just does not seem to be interested in dealing with mining companies.”
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