Phytoremediation is the solution for our marginalized economy in Snake Park

Bongani Dladla

 

Snake Park Bambanani cooperative was formed in 2023 as a tool that will be utilized to challenge the injustices done by mining companies to marginalized communities. The community of Snake Park is among the highest contaminated areas by toxic mine tailing dust in South Africa. The Department of Mineral Resources is not paying enough attention to the harm that is caused by post-mining in our communities. We are not benefiting from this mine tailing storage facility. We are only just negative health impacts.

 

Children are swimming in the contaminated water because there are no security patrols on the tailing, and there is no fencing to cordon off the area. It was also easy for us to access the tailing to start planting sunflowers as part of our phytoremediation program because the tailing is not secured and you don’t need permission to enter or do your own thing. We started working on this project in February 2023 planting sunflowers. Not even a single mine official came to approach us because they don’t care about the livelihood of people living in Snake Park.

 

Phytoremediation is our solution to prevent the dust from reaching the residents, the sunflower can clean the contaminants and we will use the seeds to produce oil or will re-sell the seeds as a cooperative. Phyto will also help us to know more about agriculture and to develop sustainable businesses around our community. Snake Park does not benefit anything from the tailing, phytoremediation will remediate our dirty environment and assist us in creating job opportunities around Snake Park.

As an activist, I feel that the mining company must work hand in hand with our co-operative because we are the first people to start this strong initiative and we have a strategy to make it sustainable.