Unity of community for Implementation of secrion 24

Lindiwe Matshiane

Lindiwe Matshiane

Steve Tshwete Municipality 

0720799937

Town: Middelburg 

Municipality: Steve Tshwete 

Area: Mafube Village

Province: Mpumalanga Province.

 

UNITY OF COMMUNITY FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF SECTION 24.

 

Mafube is a Village in Steve Tshwete Municipality, in Nkagala District which is in Mpumalanga Province. Mafube Village has about 450 families with a Nguni culture. The Ngunis like their culture so much as it’s built human hood. 

 

The Anglo-American, which is the mine that comes from abroad came under the auspices of ‘community development’. The mine has almost 25 years of operation at Mafube Village, so the lifespan of the mine was supposed to come to an end. However, they expanded their mine operations close to where the community stays. 

 

The engagement started between the community and Mafube mine for its expansion, the engagement was to focus on those families who will be affected by mine operations. The mine relocated about 120 families to Rockdale (a Municipality section where they built RDPs). Mafube mine also brought the Municipality on board. Relocations were done whereby Mafube Mine built two RDPs per family, irrespective of the number of people per household, also irrespective of the size of the yard people had.

 

Families who stayed behind experienced mine negative impacts such as air pollution, water contamination, and soil degradation. Most of the bushveld was destroyed, where the Ngunis normally held their cultural ceremonies for humanhood. Open pits/holes were left uncovered, which had negative impacts on the livelihoods of the community and also danger to children.

 

DMRE was called by the community, then the mine was given instructions to close those open pits/holes.

 

Unity of the community to know their rights as stipulated in section 24 was exercised.

 

Lindiwe Matshiane

Steve Tshwete Municipality 

Mpumalanga Province