Community members standing firm for SLP implementation

30 September 2021

Tshepo Maredi Masilo

Theunissen Masilonyana Local Municipality Free State

The fight against mining houses with regard to SLP gaining momentum.

The community of Masilo has taken a resolution to embark on a battle with DMR and the two mining houses in Masilonyana. The resolution is informed by lack of implementation of SLPs as per agreement. Every five years the municipality of Masilonyana sign a memorandum of understanding together with mining houses, but their intersection they forget the biggest stakeholder which is the community. With every agreement they sign with these two Mines, the municipality deviates and end up using money from these mines to finish the shabby work that was left by contractors that were hired illegal. In the past five years the mining industry has given the municipality two projects that were used by the municipality to rectify their mistakes of 2009, when a contractor left toilets unfinished. The community of Masilo has made it clear on its last meeting yesterday that they want to sign their own SLPs going forward and as a result they decided to stop any process that the municipality and mines go through without them as a majority shareholder.