Mines are interested in profits not the general wellbeing of the people

Community Alerts/Tshepo Mmusi/Klerksdorp/02 June 2017

It is sad and somehow disturbing to realise that after 23 years of hard earned democracy, the people who stay in farms struggle to access basic health care services. In our last week visit to  the Rietkuil and Mantariana farms  adjacent to the Shiva Uranium processing plant, people complained about the mobile clinic which pitch in these areas once in a month. The other problem associated to the mobile clinic is frequent drug stock outs. Despite living next to a multi-million Shiva mine which contributes to their Ill health, they struggle with transport to reach health services in nearby areas. At the Mantariana community, people shared that they are approaching two months without water. The issue of water and health in these farms seems to be not a priority area for the government and the mine. There is no doubt that the mine is only interested in profits and not the general well-being of the people. By Tshepo Mmusi