Our inheritance as the mine hosts

Khanyisile Matsaba

Since the mine was established near the fence line of the Nyakallong community in the early
days of the 1950s, things have fallen apart and this is still evident until these days.
What are our future Generations going to benefit as we are approaching the mine closures?
Was it the mine’s aim to only make a profit and destroy and leave everything as it is? And the
community of Nyakallong will be left with the negative impacts of the mining legacy that has
been caused by the mine.
Firstly the problem started with employment, a lot of mine workers specifically Harmony Shaft 1
that is currently the only operating mine in Nyakallong. The majority of them are foreign workers,
foreign meaning people from Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland, etc and just a few percent
of them are the residents of Nyakallong.
Secondly, the health of both the mine workers and the community is at stake. During the dusty
seasons, we get a high rate of Asthma complaints, because of the dust coming from the tailings.
The mine workers already get sicknesses such as Silicosis, TB, and Asthma from underground,
and women are left to look after them when they are forced to leave work due to these illnesses,
leading to no one working and people becoming poor.
The Voelpan doesn’t only affect the health, but housing and livestock also. Several people lost
their lives due to this Voelpan, people died because of the coldness this water brings inside their
houses, and people lost their properties due to this Voelpan.
Thirdly the livestock owners are suffering due to either the death or sicknesses of their
livestock. They are now forced to sell cheap, leading to a very big loss in their pockets. Having
to take them for regular checkups and medication due to the chemicals they inhale and
consume from the Voelpan.There are a lot of negative things we are inheriting from these
mines, how much more are we going to lose?
Can the mine make sure to compensate the residents? Can the mine make a border between
the Voelpan and the community? We are the hosts yet we are the ones suffering.