Blasting has destroyed the Magakala household.

Makgoo Victoria

By : Victoria Makgoo

Residents of Magakala, including Serafa, Mosiphong, Madifahlane, Ga Mathule, Moroke, Dithwaing,\are marching to the Chrome mine through Serafa in Burgersfort in search of answers regarding the destruction of their houses, which follows an earthquake that was felt by the community and caused terror to the families. The event has occurred this afternoon (Thursday) between 16h00 and 17h00. The community has gone to the mine offices to protest against the earthquake caused by blasting. They know they are damaging the community, but they don’t want to address the issue of the earthquake or tremor. The mine manager requested the community to come the following day to discuss the damage to the houses, as the damage was severe, including windows, ceilings and sliding doors, doors, cracks, and some of the graves were damaged. The next day, the community went to the mine offices to express their complaints. There was an
agreement that they would start repairing the windows first, as it was cold, so that they could be protected from the wind first. The earthquake did not affect the areas near the mine, but there was damage in areas such as Magobading village, which affected the community. They were shocked by the scale of the vibration
in the village, which was so frightening. The community in general needs counselling because it took them a while to believe that such a thing could happen to the community, as it is unusual and very frightening. The community has pointed out that they must pay the house owners of the affected villages every month. Mine needs to be held accountable for the damage they cause because at the mass meeting, the management indicated that they don’t have the budget for other damages. The question is, how can DMR give them a certificate? ,will they say they do not have the budget for the damage to tombstones?