Rise of unemployment in Motlhabe and the surrounding villages
Community Alerts/Lentswe Buda/Motlhabe-Rustenburg/05 April 2017
The communities have been facing high rate of unemployment for a long time now though 2KM’s from the community of Motlhabe there is an operational mine (PPM-Pilanesburg Platinum Mine), and it assists the community with nothing, during proposal of the start of the mine we were ensured that the mine will give first PRIORITY to local communities when it comes to developments and employment because they the one’s who are mostly affected by the mining activities and projects.
Mining communities always give/send complains/grievances to the mine but in results they always get less than half of their needs, they just never been provided with services that reaches their satisfactions, they sometimes provided with things that they want rather than what they need because at sometimes they don’t get to have a say during times of decisions.
The Pilanesburg Platinum Mine (PPM) has been operating for 9 years now (since 2008),but the community of Motlhabe today is still facing issues such as dusty/un-tarred/gravel roads worsened by mine vehicle’s/van’s, and huge trucks that causes us a lot of dust that affects our health/harms us, and causes diseases such as TB and Asthma, right now we experiencing a high rate of new born born Asthmatic.
Whenever the community submits a grievance or a complain the mine respond by temporarily employing a few number of youth and they would only take those who are above 18 and under 35, and also to silent them during times of protests
The previous week workers from PPM were granted an opportunity to take VSP’s aim being to reduce a certain number of workers, and if they don’t reach the number they targeting before the end of this week more will be retrenched with the system of last in 1st out.
This is really affecting the community because workers were not given a chance or time to look for another job, right now parents are forced to stay at homes with their daughter’s and son’s who have concluded their matric because they can’t continue with their studies of their choices.
The mining companies should treat their workers with respect, no one deserve to be thrown out of job without being given a warning or Notice.
