Activists Voices 2022

Activists’ Voices Reports

We are grateful to our solidarity partners for Standing with us in our struggles for a safe environment and healthy community in the face of destructive mining operations We acknowledge the consistent support by the following partner organisations:

Bread for All

Bread for the World

Norwegian Church Aid

Church of Sweden

Ford Foundation

Raith Foundation

South African Resource Watch

Steel Workers Humanity Fund

Bench Marks Foundation, 11th Floor Khotso House, 62 Marshall Street, Marshalltown, 2001 P O Box 62538, Marshalltown, 2107 Tel: 011 832 1743/2 info@bench-marks.org.za

Welcome to our year-end report of the Community Monitors School

The Community Monitors School is a programme of the Bench Marks Foundation to support communities living near mines, speak in their own voice and to take informed and powerful action on problems that affect them

The programme was set up in 2009 Bench Marks wanted to support activists ask their own questions and produce their own reports independently, not simply be included as informants in Bench Marks advocacy reports.

We responded to the call “Nothing for Us, Without Us”

Communities are plagued by unemployment and poverty and have little resources to fight powerful corporations and the political elite who use government to serve their private interests.

The activists themselves have limited formal education, technical skills, access to information and financial resources. Most activists are unemployed

How should NGOs and external movements support local communities to be informed and to develop the ability to take independent and powerful action. This was the challenge the Bench Marks took on when the Community Monitors School was set up

NGO’s and external movements do a lot to involve activists in their work They mobilise activists into protests and demonstrations, arrange for them to interview in the public media, they draw in activists as informants in research and legal cases..

In the Community Monitors School, we aimed to do more We wanted to work with activists to develops new organising approaches, innovative methods, tools, and techniques. We wanted to build information sharing and communications platforms and networks which activists could use to share ideas and information with other activists and resource people

We believed that if we created the space and provided the resources, activists would use the knowledge and with the creative skills of poor and oppressed communities the ability to “hustle” in difficult situations we believed that they would invent These inventions would be instruments of community power.

The quick short sharp Alert

We supported activists to write quick short sharp reports in a way that developed their observational, analytic and strategy formulation skills. Each monitor was required to produce two reports each month. This exercise was was intended to develops skills of documentation but importantly. assist activists develop confidence and skill to write freely and fluently. Writing is an instrument of power.

Guidelines for Powerful Reporting

Where,

The targeted group investigations

We supported groups and individual activists to spend more time to develop their short report into a targeted investigation that could be a support for strategic action The structured questions, as in the short report were the same. The difference is that we encouraged activists to talk to people in the community as well as with resource people outside the community to get more views on the problem

During the COVID lockdowns we produced five such group investigations.

Monitors COVID Reports

Digital Tools for Activists

We experimented with digital tools available on the smart cell phone, to strengthen activists' documentation work.

We explored the use of WhatsApp, for workshops, emails and digital forms to gather information, we used spread sheets to produce information graphics . We learnt to use digital maps and uploaded geo tagged pictures.

See some of this work in our Sekhukhune Report on Waste

Link to organization and community

The monitor’s school is focused on activists training but does this in a way that links to local organization and community action. We have set up a programme to encourage activists to move from information to action through their local organization in the community

Information and Communications Network

We have built an information and communications network which allows activists to share information and ideas across the country as well as activists in other southern African countries.

Success?

Over the past 10 years monitors have documented how the mining industry carried on their destruction regardless of community voices on the problems they faced

We have seen many local leaders, traditional and municipal, as well as the national political elite become captured by corporations

We believe that the problem of mining will only end when mining is freed from markets and the profit system. Where our economy has a need for mining, industrial activity must be designed to protect the environment and community from the poisonous consequences of mining.

We believe that the solution to our problem is the end of mining for private profit and the return of the land to all the people so that they could use it to produce a decent life.

Our success is that we build community awareness, develop knowledge and skills and innovate new strategies to disrupt the power of corporations Our success is in the determination of activists to continue the struggle for a people centered just society.. There is an alternative to mining for profit Aluta Continua

Monitors

The activists draw from communities living near mines in 40 villages/townships/informal settlements.

The communities are spread across 5 provinces in South Africa : Limpopo, North West, Free State, Gauteng, KZN and Mpumalanga.

The Community Monitors School is made up of 72 local activists They are an equal number of young men and women.

The Coordination Team 2022

Each year, a team of more experienced activists drawn from the local monitors make up the coordination team.

They are trained to facilitate the training of local groups and coordinate their activities. They are in addition trained to edite monitors’ reports and prepare publications

This is the coordination team for 2022:

• Mmabore Gladys Mogashoa Sekhukhune , Limpopo

• Phindile Ngobeni Marikana , Northwest

• Tshepo Mmusi Klerksdorp, North West

• Mpho Naka Tjale Mokopane , Limpopo

• Amogelang Tshabalala Moses Kotane , North West

• Francina Nkosi Lephalale , Limpopo

• Thokozile Mntambo – Soweto , Gauteng

• Makhotla Sefuli Free State

• Vusi Mabaso eMalahleni , Mpumalanga

• Nelly Nkosi Mpumalanga/KZN

National Coordinators

The overall programme is coordinated by National Coordinators: Mmathapelo Thobejane (Sekhukhune, Limpopo) and Olebogeng Motene (Rustenburg, North West) . They are supported by Bench Marks programme resource people and admin staff.

Facilitators

Mpumalanga Monitors

Poisonous Coal Dust Over Community

Ronald Mhlakaza Vosman, Mpumalanga

Dust From Mine Blasting

Coal mines around the area of Clever in eMalahleni regularly blast rocks to extract coal When they blast, the dust goes straight in the direction of the community and the surrounding areas. It becomes dark for few minutes.

We are sure that this air is polluted and that residents are breathing this polluted air This is why there is a large number of health issues in the community. Other nearby communities are also affected by the air pollution

The blasting takes place every week on a Thursday at 14h00. A siren rings to alert the community.

As activists we believe that the mine should be closed, because it was wrong in the first place for the coal mine to be situated nearby communities

Dust from Mine Trucks

As we all know, after extracting coal the coal should be transported by the trucks to the buyers All the dust that is caused by the trucks go straight to the nearby community and air pollution is caused by the trucks during

transporting the coal It happened at eMalahleni, at the community called Vosman, and nearby communities

It happened every day; coal it's transported every day and night

Nearby communities are most affected, because coal it’s transported every day by trucks, and it's not only dust that affects them; even the noise of the trucks it affects them

When trucks are transporting the coal, all the dust go straight to the communities and it cause air pollution; and the road it’s a gravel road, it’s not been sprayed with water to reduce the dust

Not sure about this word

Backyard Gardens Create Employment

Musawenkosi Dlamini Empumelelweni Mpumalanga

I started a garden in my backyard which I will benefit from and save from it It is not just me only who will benefit from the garden, also my neighbours will; they also started their own gardens.

In the process of preparing the soil bed I made a decompose with food leftovers. I put the food leftovers in a bucket to rot. When the leftovers had rotted, I made rows on the soil bed and put the decompose and covered it with soil and watered it. In the process discovered that you can also use paper strips, egg fillers, eggshells and ash to fertilise your soil. I water my soil bed everyday using dish water since water is scarce. I would like to grow more vegetables in my backyard garden because I found it easy to maintain it.

I have a challenge in finding enough seedlings for my garden

I found it really easy to set up a backyard garden because it is easy to maintain, also convenient and having a food garden minimises the cost of going to buy vegetables in markets If education about having gardens in our backyards can be brought to our community, I think that can be an eye opener to the community, and it can also create employment

Betty Masango eMalahleni, Mpumalanga

Informal settlement dwellers have built houses on the wetlands in Vosman in eMalahleni near the coal mines. They are now flushing their toilet waste into the nearby stream in the wetlands

There is a line of mines next to the dwellings; the mineworkers have decided to stay next to the mine so that it will be easy for them to get to work. There are close to 300 houses built here.

This started because the mines employ people from faraway places, so for them to get to work it will be easy if they stay next to the mine, even though it’s a wetland; to them it doesn't matter

The wetland was a place where kids played. They swam and the water was used to wash clothes, since there is a shortage of water. This was also a place where livestock (cows, goats, sheep and chickens) would drink water. Now the stream is getting dry and stinking

The municipality must discuss this problem with the mine employers and get them to move their workers out of the wetland to a more suitable place. The mine must take responsibility for the destruction of the wetlands

Women and children carry the burden of energy poverty

Even though it is not safe, they have to take their kids with them as they can't even afford to pay for someone to look after them. It is a very sad part that you can't even control the situation.

When I interviewed mam Nomsa about this situation she said, “I am well aware that coal is dangerous and causing respiratory diseases, but I have no alternative I can't sleep in a cold house without food to eat because of electricity's on and off."

Then her friend Nombulelo said, "I was born with asthma, and it left me when I was twelve years, and now I'm thirty two years but I prefer risking this silent killer rather than staying in the cold house ” The easy alternative is to be there for an alternative energy use during this hard times of load shedding; if not so something bad is coming

KwaZulu Natal Monitors

Farm dwellers want solutions to their land problems

Sibusiso Zwane

Normandien, Newcastle, KwaZulu Natal

Communities in the Normandien farms of Utrecht, Ngogo, and Borthaspass Farms in Majuba District met officials of the Department of Land Affairs, They were led by Umhlabawethu Movement

They wanted information about their land claims which they applied to, 10 up to 20 years back. They never got a response. In this meeting, they did not get a clear understanding of where these claims stand or how long the process will drag. Worse, the Department has lost all documents which the farm dwellers used in their application They had made a request that government buys them a farm. They felt that the government had misled the farm dwellers on the cost of land which they wished to buy They also reported on problems which have not been solved by Majuba District officials of Departments of Land Affairs These are related to water and electricity. They also reported how a young woman living on a farm was being bullied and threatened by her farm owner He wanted her to sell all of her livestock and threatened that if she doesn’t do that, he will sell them himself. She refused to do this. He brought in the police and the young lady was arrested.

Farm dwellers illegally evicted at Ephokweni village

Zamakwakhe Shabalala

Phokweni, Utrecht Municipality, Kwazulu

Natal

Farmers who evict farm dwellers illegally are rarely prosecuted or held accountable. Community dwellers from the Amajuba district have seen evictions of farm dwellers without court orders. Unfair evictions still continue to affect them where the farmer switches off the electricity or water to force farm dwellers to move out

they can no longer plough on the field, and life has become a struggle for the community of Ephokweni.

There are other problems Mr Mkhonza wants to build a big house for his family because he is getting older and he now has grandchildren Mr Mkhonza has been denied by the farmer to build a house because he claims that he owns the land. A 70 year old pensioner who lives at Spitskop farm struggles a lot when he has to go shopping for groceries every month He has to jump the fence because the farmers have locked the gates on the farm, and they are not opening for people to pass Local transport cannot pass to deliver passengers; even the ambulance stops at the locked gates when they come to collect a sick person.

Gauteng Monitors

Snake Park has many informal farmers; they farm livestock like pigs, cows, sheep and goats. These animals live close by the tailing mine dump, and they are sick most of the time because of the toxic dust. Farmers are struggling because their animals die, and they cannot get compensated This year around March we were affected by heavy rains, and they lasted more than a week. This was not good for farmers in Snake Park because their animals don’t have proper shelter and they live in shady conditions.

Many pigs died because of the cold, and this was a great loss for many farmers. Three farmers were affected And in total they lost 78 pigs The names of farmers affected are Mr Joseph Nkuna, Tsepo Moeketsi, Babu Mathonsi. Mr Nkuna, one of the farmers, lost 10 pigs because of the floods

The government must help farmers because they are suffering. They must fund informal farmers and monitor their livestock

wetlands Nobulawo Sitshaluza Snake Park, Gauteng

In Snake Park, community of shack dwellers has been living in wetlands for over 20 years. These people have been promised the government RDP subsidy, and some of them have been moved from the area because it’s a dolomite area. Last year, the Department of Housing promised that their houses are ready, and they will be soon moved to their RDP houses, but this did not happen.

I spoke to this lady who lives there: “We face many challenges as we are living here The environment is not safe and especially the dust from the tailing affects us the most since we live next to it The yard is wet, and you will find the water coming out from the ground in the house We have tried many ways to block the water, but it still cracks our floor. Children get sick easily, suffering from the cold. It is hard for them to wake up early in the morning and bathe to go to school because you will find the floor freezing with ice all over the house; as the result, they start coughing. It gets extremely cold Most of us are suffering from asthma and bronchitis, especially during wintertime”.

Buyi Gasa Snake Park Gauteng

The mining tailing dam in Thulani Snake Park in Soweto causes many problems and health issues to the people who live near the dam.

A big problem is that many elderly people living near this area have asthma and lung diseases due to this tailing. Children suffer form skin rash and eye problems .

There are many children with cerebral palsy in our community We believe that this is due to pregnant woman in the area being affected by these radioactive chemicals..

Mbali Zulu is a 35 year old woman who gave birth to a child with cerebral palsy, her child was born with deformities and mental disorders. The tailing dump contains highly radioactive chemicals which can cause lung cancer, miscarriage, and organ failure. Our community is exposed to this radioactive chemicals every day

The mine was set up by Durban Roodepoort Deep (DRD Gold ) more than a century ago . DRD Gold sold the tailing dump to Mintails in 2007 Mintails remined the tailings for more gold Mintails did not maintain the dump and dust was blown into the community . Mintails limited is now liquidated As August is approaching people and schools will be affected because you will find dust in people's homes and classrooms

Siyani Hlungwani

Snake Park, Johannesburg , Gauteng

In my street, In Thulani Snake Park, we have more than 20 people who are diagnosed with asthma.

In every household, you will find that there are one or more people living with this sickness. This has become a pandemic in our community because children who are younger than 6 years old are taking asthma treatment I spoke to Lettisa Nkuna who is aged 65 years old , she told me that last year when her granddaughter started grade one, she came home very sick and she could not breathe, she gave her Panado thinking this was just a minor fever it will go away but still it got worse. She called an ambulance, and her granddaughter was taken to Leratong hospital she was told her granddaughter has asthma, and she now uses the Cipla spray every day. “I don't take her to school when she wakes up with a wheezing chest, “ she said this is bad because her granddaughter misses out on school when she is very sick.

Many of these respiratory sicknesses are triggered by the toxic dust we inhale every day

I went to our local clinic Siphumulile I found three long lines outside the gate. Many of these chronic patients have TB, Pneumonia, Lung cancer, and asthma I spoke to one of the care workers who told me that they even do home visits because some of the patients who suffer from TB can't even walk to the clinic and get medication

We are living in fear every day because we cannot run away from our homes because of this dust Now that the mask mandate has been cancelled in our country. We as people of Snake Park will continue to wear our masks because our lives are at higher risk.

The gold mine rush is over, now we are left with dumps

Cutting of trees creates more dust from the mine tailings

Siphiwe Jokazi Snake park ,Johannesburg , Gauteng

Planting trees on mine tailings has always been a technique used to prevent soil erosion that may cause the dust to be blown by strong winds and pollute the air.

In Thulani Snake Park the number of trees is decreasing as a result of people deforesting the mine tailings of the trees called windbreakers. The sole purpose of these trees is to prevent the dust from being blown away into the atmosphere. The dust is blown into people’s homes as a result of this practice.

People are cutting down these trees out of desperation to make fire wood during these cold winter months because they have no electricity This can be attributed to the ever increasing prices of paraffin and other energy generating fuels.

Eskom has cut off the electricity for people who live in informal settlements since 2014, a promise was made that prepaid electricity boxes will be installed for every household so that they can be able to purchase their own electricity. Electricity is one of the services that people are entitled to and this is a direct violation of their rights, hence people are cutting down the windbreakers while oblivious to the risk of contaminated dust that they are exposing themselves to

This issue needs to be addressed and resolved, the health and wellbeing of the residents at stake The environmental impact and climate can be averted by this trivial but significant act of humanity. Windbreakers will take years to plant and grow again and the community will continue to suffer in the meantime Eskom also needs to come to the party and stick to their end of the bargain Electricity is no longer a luxury but a necessity and a basic need

Mine dust make us sick

Respiratory Illness

Siyani Hlungwani Snake Park , Soweto

In my street, we have more than 20 people who are diagnosed with asthma. This has become a pandemic in our community because children who are younger than 6 years old are taking asthma treatment which is very unfortunate for their parents because if their kids can start getting sick at creche they can even die. I spoke to Lettisa Nkuna who is aged 65 years old she stays with her granddaughter Xiluva Nkuna who is seven years old. she told me that last year when her granddaughter started grade one she came home very sick and she could not breathe, she gave her Panado thinking this was just a minor fever it will go away but still it got worse She called an ambulance, and her granddaughter was taken to Leratong hospital she was told her granddaughter has asthma, and she now uses the Cipla spray every day “I don't take her to school when she wakes up with a wheezing chest, “ she said this is bad because her granddaughter misses out on school when she is very sick

Many of these respiratory sicknesses are triggered by the toxic dust we inhale every day. We are living in fear every day because we cannot run away from our homes because of this dust. Now that the mask mandate has been canceled in our country We as people of Snake Park will continue to wear our masks because our lives are at higher risk

Skin Rash

Nobulaw Sitshaluza

Snake Park, Soweto

Many babies and children in Snake park have a skin rash . When the baby is born you will think that they just have heat rash it gets worse if you ignore it and you don't treat it in time.

This is due to the mine dust

Ntombi one of the residents says that her 4 year old daughter suffers from eczema. It started when she was a baby and this was the hardest time in her life because she had to travel with her to Baragwanath hospital every month to take her treatment.. She says now it is harder because taxis have increased sometimes, she has to borrow transport money to take her child for her treatment.

Balungile is a 21 year old who says that her eyes have been very itchy for years and have a reddish colour,she said that this is because of the dust She also suffers from eczema she was not born with this condition but this happened when she moved to Snake Pak in 2019 She does not take treatment at Baragwanath but she buys her aqueous cream and it costs her R100. it is very expensive and it's the only thing she uses to bath so that eczema can heal

The community has no solution so far because they have been complaining to the councilors for years

North West

West

Rustenburg /Sefikile

Kotane

COVID exercise encourages backyard gardens

Kgang Moloko Phokeng Village Rustenburg

Last year we received seedlings to start producing our backyard gardens and inspire other community members to do the same, and I have done so This was part of our COVID response activity in the Bench Marks Community Monitors network.

At the beginning of this year, I decided to donate some of the seedlings to one of our local early learning centres called Semane. There are Community Workers Program participants working at the centre and they liked the idea of starting a garden at the centre and provide learners with fresh vegetables

The supervisor of CWP engaged with the principal and agreed to the project as it will also help reduce the costs of running the centrist it also helps supply fresh vegetables as sometimes they struggled to get fresh products She indicated that sometimes suppliers would place fresh vegetables on top of older ones which they would only realize later

The supervisor said the project doesn't only help in feeding the learners it also gives participants skills and knowledge about producing their own vegetables.

Kgosi Kgolo supports community assaulted by mine security

Doris Mdau

Marikana Mmaditlhokwa, Bojanala.

On the 27th of April we had a visit from Kgosi Kgolo from Lefarakgatlha Rustenburg He came with one of the community managers. They were from Wonderkop were the Marikana Massacre took place. We explained the situation that the community is facing

On the 11 March 2022. Mmaditlhokwa community members refused to evacuate for the mining blasting which was taking place less than 100 metres away from their house. The reason for them to refuse is because mine is mining in their own land There were ten community members on the action. They tend were brutally assaulted by the mine securities guards

The Kgosi immediately went with us to the Marikana Police station and made a report When we got to the station, we were advised to come the following day When we got there, it was explained to us that the station is still waiting for a court decision

Kgosi Kgolo said that the mine must pay the community members who was on the action. We have no further news on this problem, we are still waiting for the respond since while we open the case as community of Mmaditlhokwa.

Mining kills herbs an roots Used by Traditional Healers

Jan Skosana

Marikana , Bojanala

On the 21 and 26 April , I was participating at community workshop . The interesting part was after the workshop when we were taking pictures I met three traditional healers I asked them some questions

They told me that to be a traditional healer is to accept the calling They said they accepted the calling in 1996 at Mpumalanga.

We talking about being a traditional healing in a mining community, They said their biggest challenge was that that mining has killed plants and tree’s These are the places they get their herbs. Now they have to go very far away to fetch herbs and roots They go as far as Mozambique to get herbs for patients. This takes a lot of time and made the work of the traditional healer very expensive

Mining brings more people To our community seeking work

Keamogetswe Mogobye

Sefikile village

There are thousands and thousands of shacks in our community outsiders are now making our village theirs.They are now land owners with no stand cards,They harvest Garlic that needs a lot of water and they dont pay water Bill's Some of them they dont have water,toilets and electricity also they dont have cemetery,they bury their dead loved once everywhere in our land they have parts of land they call qwecheza,maplanka,tholamotswana and new stand it is known they are untouchable no one can tell them what to do some of sefikile youth have been served by protection order for trying to evict this outsiders who build rentalroom.sefikile youth is crying out loud to elders from tribal office and minister of land to evict this outsiders because of elders dont want to give them land/plot where they should build their houses or businesses they are insulted by elders they dont want to provide them with stand cards.they are the one selling our lands to those outsiders

The Swartklip mine who attraced these people should hostels house for them both men and women because this wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for mine, people coming all over from the world come looking for jobs..

Ikemeleng

I was revisiting our dumping site in Ikemeleng informal settlement , checking how fast it is growing. While taking pictures at the dump site near the Clinic, a man, his name , Kabelo , who grew up in Ikemeleng , he asked me questions about pictures I'm taking.

He asked me why are you taking pictures and will it bring about change. I answered by saying that the picture is proof of what is happening in Ikemeleng. He said but it has been long and that he was reading articles from Benchmark Foundation monitors including your mother and nothing has changed I agree with him and also explained that voice of the community is power But the voice of the writer alone cannot win. I said as monitors our part is to take picture, and write what we see and what you as the community say when we interviewed you. We don't write what we see alone. I told him it will be important if he can be part of the interview I will be doing soon and explain how he got affected and what infection can take place to their health He agreed to be part he also said that this dumping site causes fights in the community between him and people who throw things in the place. but now he is tired he is no longer talking

Rehabilitation project negatively affects the community

Kgothatso Huma

Bojanala ,Rustenburg, Northwest

It's been 3 years since the Rehabilitation project kick started.

The affected communities are Thekwane, Photsaneng, Mfidikwe, Bokamoso, Bleskop, Central Deep, Karee, Nkaneng, Marikana, Wonderkop, Entabeni and Zakhele as they are using the road on a daily basis. A Primary School and a Hospital are also affected directly by the project.

The most disturbing issue about the project is the negative impact it brings to the roads because the trucks make spillages wherever they drive. Now the tailings are all over the road, whereby the dust is all over and during the windy season the problem becomes worse. The community is complaining about the dust because it's bad, and they are also inhaling the dust direct daily.

Again, there's no alternative road and the owners of the cars are also complaining about having to take their cars to the car wash every time they make us off the road. Nothing is being done, and we wonder what kind of report is made to Sibanye concerning the progress report.

help learners in Makuka Secondary school to apply for their ID documents, but the lack of network made it all difficult We are very close to the mine and other communities close to the mine have this kind of resource, but we don't know why we don't have it in our village

We called the community members to come and apply for their kids’ IDs and for themselves Home Affairs comes with their truck to process ID applications in their system, right inside their truck. However, because we don’t have a network in our area, they could not do their jobs

It broke my heart to see community members leaving without getting any help after standing in a long queue on a cold morning

The Home Affairs Department Spokesperson said they will only come as soon as network towers are inserted in our community but until then, community members must come to Mogwase offices for help. Mogwase is close to 50km, and it will take about an hour to get there

Corruption blocks our youth getting jobs.

Keamogetswe Mogobye Sefikile village

We find most of youth unemployed because of corruption in our communities referring to Bakgatla as a whole. The community forum in most cases they sell this jobs especially vacancies at mines to people from outside our village

Why do I say so? I was working at a certain hospital where they do medical tests, you you'll find outsiders claiming they are from Sefikile and indeed when i look at his curriculum vitae you will find proof of resident from Bakgatla tribal office it was very rare to find a person i know from my community, When you ask those foreigners how they got the job they tell you that they bought it.

There are lot of young ladies who have slept with elder men for money they sell their bodies.

I found myself going to recruitment office at mine to apply for open vacancies instead they returned me and told me I should go back to those community forums who sell vacancies to foreigners I would personally like to urge community members, gatekeepers, elders, councilors, business forums, employment forums to look at this in different aspects of view Let's stop this corruption, community members are suffering.

Electricity problems undermines small business

Kgang Moloko

Phokeng Village Rustenburg,

The country is experiencing electric power cuts while loadshedding is frustrating small businesses in Phokeng village and other surrounding areas in Rustenburg. Ms Kgomotso Rangaka is a seamstress based in Phokeng and she ekes out a living by mainly making church attires In some cases, she has orders that requires her to work on daily basis and into the wee hours of the morning She usually has deadlines to meet and targets to reach but now she is forced to work according to the scheduled loadshedding timetable provided by Eskom which is not always accurate. In some instances, loadshedding lasts up to four hours and that sets her up for failure to complete her orders on time This not only affects her business but other businesses in the village of Phokeng. The community not only has to put up with loadshedding, but there's also a new concept introduced to our lingua franca called load reduction. The explanation given by Eskom technicians is that some households have backyard tenants and that weighs heavily on the power grid Eskom allocates volts per household and not per tenants occupying a particular household. This according to Eskom, is a tributary to the new concept of load reduction.

Another attribute is tempering with meter boxes by residents and buying ghost or illegal electricity at a cheaper price that is not supplied by Eskom.

loadshedding because criminals operate freely when covered by the cloud of darkness One young local entrepreneur by the name of Gege Gegman operates his business from a steel cage that we call containers in the townships His business used to thrive before the electric cables that supply power to his container were sabotaged on several occasions. This had a negative bearing on his business, and he is forced to close early when it gets dark, and this has led to him forfeiting many clients. Alternatively, he must rely on the gas stove and depend on candles when it gets dark The other problem is the unregistered electric meter boxes installed in the containers, the new owners didn't give them coupons to purchase electricity and that denies them to reapply for the new cables to be installed. He used to get electricity from one of the nearby houses but that was until their own cable and meter box was stolen.

Government should repair the old power stations that lay abandoned around our villages and townships in order to boost the existing ones.

Our justice and legal systems should also deal harshly with those who are found guilty of cable theft by imposing harsh sentences because we don't know how many businesses must die and lives disrupted before loadshedding can be addressed

North West

Matlosana /Klerksdorp

Turning taverns into safe social space

Joe Mashilo Klerksdorp, North West Province

In a tavern in Jouberton, the patrons and the community members have organized themselves and established a Bambanani men’s forum. It is a male group with more than eighty members. The group engages members into talks/dialogues on important issues which affect them as members, their families and the community

Through these dialogues which are held each month, the Bambanani Men's forum realized that most men are in debt due to alcohol, that violence is being committed when people are under the alcohol influence, and most women are being violated by men when they are under the same alcohol influence Men are committing suicide because they are bottling up issues and have nowhere else to go Of course, some are consuming alcohol for pure entertainment

Bambanani is supporting the initiative which was introduced by Justice go and Peace of leveraging the taverns as progressive sites for change It's member's are working hard to transform their tavern to become a safe public social space

Bambanani forum is of a view that all the taverns and its patrons need to also start to contribute to changing the negative narrative that taverns are creating a problem for the community

On the 2nd of May 22, the forum in partnership with Justice and Peace held an event the Mix Tavern in Jouberton. The event brought together men and women over 18yrs under an in an outdoor venue The speakers reflected on the challenges facing men at home, workplace and at the community at large. Guests speakers spoke about depression, stress, gender based violence/femicide, debts, alcohol addiction, violence, employment dismissals, occupational health and injuries

We wish to extend our invitation to other taverns in Jouberton and community at large to come and celebrate with us and learn the model of transforming the taverns and its patrons. Members of Bambanani started the event with a walk in Ext 24 and collected food items and donated to the poorest households in the area

As mines close down, unemployment increases our youth are growing up full of anger

Mampusetseng Mokotsi

Jouberton Location, Matlosana

When you go around our Township, you'll see groups of young people standing in and around the tuck shops smoking cigarettes, dagga, and taking other drugs You don’t feel comfortable taking out your wallet and buy something because they are there, from the morning until night

No one is motivating them, no one is grooming them. As I’m a teacher in Saturday classes in my church we try our level best to talk to them, love them, hear them out because they come from different backgrounds, and they are full of anger, and they grow up with it, and it is painful

The mining industry has been the heart and soul and the backbone of the economy of Klerksdorp and the surrounding areas for a long time.

As a result of mining, lots of businesses were thriving in Matlosana, many people were employed and learnerships for young people were made available by mining companies

Infrastructure such as housing, sports facilities like stadiums and tarred roads were provided by the Vaal Reefs mining company for its employees. These amenities were also beneficial to the residents outside the mining employ because local schools also utilized them.

Everyone from small to big business is equally affected and the frustration of the local residents is getting more intense every day. Families are getting dysfunctional as a result of the situation; our young men are resorting to drug abuse and gender based violence is now the order of the day.

If Government can implement more activities such as free computer classes, free driver’s licenses, sports activities, and construction activities just to keep them busy so that they can think positively, and it won’t lead them to do negative things.

The community of KANANA is living in a bad situations since from last year. Members of the community of KANANA are not safe because all illegal miners that came from Welkom , Stilfontein and Khuma are living in KANANA. They came to our area because they use the ventilation pipes nearby to go underground to do their illegal mining activities so it easy to get in than to go straight to the shaft from Kanana.

Last year in October CPM mine company decided to close the shaft because of constant fights between illegal miners and the security officers. Since from that time we found that our lives have changed because as a community we are like animals we are no more human beings we live in fear.

We live in fear, and we are not sleeping well at night because of the sounds of their shooting guns . We asking ourselves that we are still safe inside our houses or not.

In the last few weeks of April 2022 they gunned a young woman inside her house after a few days they also gunned the security officer, so each and every weekend we bury people because of the them. We are living in fear.

They are now fighting amongst themselves and killing each other even us as community we scared to raise our voices cause we don't no will be safe or not.

So this is how we live as a community we don't have solution cause even the police are afraid of them and its not safe to arrest them.

Mahadio Mohapi Kanana Location, Matlosana Municipality (Klerksdorp)

Free State

Theunissen in the Free State is one of the richest towns in Lejweleputswa in terms of the minerals. But yet the people are the poorest in the same region. Community members decided to challenge the status quo by marching against both Sibanye Stillwaters and Harmony Joel gold mine. The bone of contention of the march was again the Social Labour Plan. The community of Masilo has been complaining for a long time about how the SLP was being managed by both the municipality and mines. In the past the municipality has relinquished its powers to the mines in terms of choosing when and how to activate projects that are meant to help the community

In 2021 the community of Masilo had to stop buses of both Sibanye and Harmony Joel from collecting workforce because they were not satisfied with how arrogant those mines have been throughout the years

The fact that municipality didn't endorse the people's march didn't sit well the masses as they said that it appeared that the municipality was sleeping with the mining houses against the community At the SLP talks community decided to chase away representatives of Sibanye because of the attitude they displayed. They were viewed as arrogance and for that they were told to go and fix their attitudes. In our community, we attend the IDP meetings called by the Municipality.

As a community, we give suggestions on which projects that are urgent, and which are not For example, because it is winter now we say high mast lights are urgent or we say we say that the sewer or water reticulation must be fixed urgently We find that these issues of the community put at the back of the line and that the projects where individual in the council have an interest are placed higher up When the community wants to engage the mines in the stakeholder structures, the municipality says no, that we cannot talk to the mines alone and that we must inform them, and they talk to the mines on our behalf. So, we do not know who's failing the community, is it the municipality or the mining industry

The community is awaiting their SLP negotiations, and we shall wait to see if things will improve.

Tshepo Maredi Masilo Theunissen Masilonyana Free State

When The Mines Close The Community Pays the Costs

labour brought along a great need for the development of residential areas The then apartheid government and mining corporations didn’t have a spatial plan for such developments in the black community

The mushrooming of informal settlements around our townships and the excitement of our cities as they grow resulted in a mammoth task for the new government of proclaiming and formalizing those areas

There's no proper planning for reticulation of services and water and sanitation in particular, the old sewer system and the storm water drain system

The problem is that the old infrastructure was not designed for this size of the population, there are blockages on every street corner especially on the east side of the township because that is the area where a lot of informal settlements grew.

Most of the residents complained about the manholes that are within their properties, they are always blocked by the large volumes of sewer and instead of flowing they retract back to the surface

major generators they are situated on street corners and traffic circles in the full view of the public, young children are playing right next to those generators while the engine is still running Another problem is their vulnerability to the small time crooks who are always scavenging for scrap metals, that means that the municipality has to employ security for those generators because they are rented from a private company.

The major concern is the amount of money that is spent on diesel to keep them running because they have been there for a number of years now

As GUBICO we feel strongly that the municipality is in direct violation of the rights of citizens to clean environment and both blue and green drop status because that storm water and raw sewerage go to the same discharge point

It is our intention to look into the different avenues to lay a formal complaint against the municipality because a crime is being committed in broad daylight

Umsizi, an agency appointed by Taung Gold to facilitate their SLP consultation process with the community managed to stick to their end of the bargain

A meeting was convened between the community and all stakeholders and was to a larger extent successful This meeting was a sequel to the one that was held last month where a commitment was made by Taung Gold to come back and have a consultation with the community

The purpose to capture and gather ideas and aspirations and what will eventually be beneficial to the communities whose livelihood has always and solely dependent on mining. The new mine will operate at what used to be Freddie's gold mine in Odendaalsrus The community also raised their demands and a robust and friendly engagement paved way for consensus between the public and the mining company ,hence the appointment of Umsizi to act as agents.

The company when they responded to the communities' questions agreed that things were not done properly to everyone’s satisfaction. This admission was important for the community.

The venue was full to capacity as the community feels that they cannot always be left out when decisions are taken on their behalf

The meeting went ahead, and a sizeable number of issues were raised, and clarity was provided, and pledges and commitments were made where necessary. The priorities were identified, and the following issues were given enough preference for implementation

The executive members to come and meet with the community

Upliftment of local businesses by the mine

Assist in infrastructure development

Employment should be biased towards the local people instead of foreigners

The issue of ageism should not be used as a criterion when giving people employment

The community must be given a chance to view the map of and where the mine will be situated

Fracking and sewer spills is killing our Rivers

Nkane Mpembe

Nketoana, Thabo Mofutsanyane district Free State Province

The Nketoana river that provides water for irrigation to local farmers and feeds their life stock is at serious risk. Is it fracking or sewer spills or both?

The Nketoana local municipality is sinking into crisis each day, the fracking issue that is a hot potato on the side of the farming community and other businesses in the area has now taken a turn for the worst.

In 2019 prospecting and fracking rights was given to a company called Rhino Oil in the farming area of Thabo Mofutsanyane district that shares a border with KwaZulu Natal Both provinces are going to be highly affected by the devastating consequences should Rhino oil proceed with their plan to expropriate oil and gas in the Free State.

The commercial farming sector is the one that will suffer the most devastating consequences because the underground water that is the most vital commodity will be the first to be contaminated and thus making farming to be futile as the soil will be sterile and will take years to rehabilitate and be fertile again.

The Nketoana river that has always sustained the livelihood of the agricultural community is the latest casualty to be claimed by the fracking operation. In the recent months we have witnessed the water contamination and that is foreign to this part of our district. We suspect that this is linked to fracking drilling operations We have no concrete proof exists Rhino oil company that is responsible for the drilling is nowhere sight and not even one of their officials has visited the community.

Another adversity that is adding insult to injury is the sewer spillage that is flowing into the local river, this is the same river that is providing irrigation to the local farmers and their livestock also drink from the river. We have approached the local councillors about the problem and the officials are always shifting the goal posts, eventually they put the blame on the aging and decaying infrastructure that has become dysfunctional.

As a way of identifying the cause of the problem, it was agreed that three of our comrades will attend a crash course and training on water testing and hopefully this will provide us with the right tools to understanding the causes and finding a solution to the problem

Limpopo Mokopane and Lephalale

Illegal mining plus illegal dumping equals to environmental disaster

Rebecca Selomo Mokopane Mogalakwena ,

An ongoing illegal mining of G5 sand at Mahwelereng HOME 2000, has resulted in several open pits which are now characterized by rubbish dump. The residents cited their reason for illegal dumping as the inconsistency of the municipality with their waste collection schedule .

The eco system is one area that is most affected because livestock from surrounding areas graze on the site, that can pose a serious threat to the lives of these animals and loss to the small scale and subsistence farmers in the area.

The recommendation is that the municipality must open more landfill sites in local settlements and villages, One landfill site is enough to cater for the whole municipality. The municipality must find a way to exercise oversight monitoring and control on sites that are more prone to illegal dumping. Municipal by laws must always be enforced with a fine for transgressors

people’s basic right to water Kagiso Jan Shiko

Ga Shongwane, Lephalale,

Water provision is still a challenge in the village of Shongwane. The municipality failed to maintain the system that is supposed to be providing water to poor households Over 6000 people are affected. Schools have managed to drill boreholes, but shopping centres and the local clinic are also affected

Families buy water from local guys who sells with donkey carts the waters from far section that always has running water solely so in Melvel section within Shongwane village while majority sections continue to suffer with no running water They pay R4 00 for a 20L/25L bucket Many families relay on the state grant of R1800 per month

As a united community we can hold the community and Traditional authorities accountable

By bringing the community together and advocating about our rights. That can be done through workshops, mass meetings, campaigns, and awareness All this can be done through building community power.

People Create Jobs

Gogo uses Marula fruits for an extra cash

Lolo Malatji Maletswai , Abbortsppoort Village, Lephalale,,

Due to the high rate of unemployment in Maletswai village that hosts mega projects like Medupi Power plant and Exxaro coal mine , most people opt for small businesses to survive under this difficult economic times

I interviewed one Gogo around our village who use Marula fruits for an extra cash to survive with her family.

Gogo is already on her old age pension and living with her 29 years son who is unemployed, but that did not stop her from doing something for extra money

She collect Marula fruits around the village, household where they have Marula trees She use Marula fruits to brew a Marula beer and sell 2L for R30. The nuts are cooked so that they can be good products after. She then crack the nuts, pack in a plastic and sell them R30 per pack.

Her son help her with marketing the business through social media platforms, (Facebook and WhatsApp). People see the posts and place orders; the nuts are high in demand She says men are usual customers of her business

Palala River The fish they catch is Barbore (it has no bones big , just a large spine) , chekecheke, and poopens are smaller fishes. They use both rods and nets to catch the fish They go to the river during the day and fish Later they move around the village to sell to other people in the community so that they can have a source of income

They sell cooked fish in packets of three for R30 and uncooked fish they sell in 5 litre buckets for R150 Young women are also engaging in the fishing activities so that they can help put food on the table. Two women I know who are active fisherwomen are Martha Kekae and Maria Sekhu Right now , their fishing activity has been disrupted by the very heavy rains . The rivers are very full and therefore not good for fishing

Big mines and power stations but no Internet access for school children

Manare Monene

Area :Marapong Township

Technology is a new way of doing things because we now in 4IR and moving with time but lack of internet has been an alarm to our young who can’t afford to buy data for their school projects , assignments and online courses Rural areas schools have no access to free wifi in schools

School kids and youth gather in hot weather conditions and also rainy weather to sit and access the internet Loadshedding and load reduction affects the network connection because we use electricity for network connection alternatives should put in place for sustainable connection in the community.

The municipal should consider giving free WIFI for our communities in order for the kids to achieve more and learn more in advancing life and the future that’s ahead of us but how will we be a developing country when we don’t have the right to accessing sufficient WIFI for all

Schools should have their own library where they have access to the good internet connection for more time in doing their homework’s but yet children suffer in getting information in such connection in this more challenging in Marapong but we live next to Exxaro Coal mine and Eskom which should support fully.

And that being said that’s how kids are being kidnapped and raped or even killed because they leave this places late and some come from far like extension 4 for the internet access

Way forward :

• Government should provide free data for leaners

• Shelters should be built for protection to sit as children access WIFI

• WIFI hubs must be established in all rural areas

• Schools and clinics to provide free WIFI for work purposes

Limpopo

Community Engagement (CEF)

years ago According MPRDA women, people with disabilities and community based structures are the primary stakeholders of the mine.

When the organizations met the mine on 05 April 2022, the mine told them that they are aware of the matter and the mine is already prepared to include the organisation as part of mine community engagement forum. The mine insisted that they will also engage the Department of Social Development (government) even though the community representatives made it clear that the department is failing them because they knew about this and never took any initiative to engage about it. And they told the mine that the department will not take decisions on who must represent them because the organisations had already elected their representatives

Communities Demand “Open the Mine or We Take it Over”

Victoria Makgoo Morapaneng Village, Fetakgomo Tubatse Municipality, Limpopo Province

On the 13 May the communities who “host” the Twickenham Platinum mine marched to the Twickenham mine offices and handed over a memorandum demanding that the mine must reopen and end the confusion and frustration of the communities affected by the mine “” .

When a mine goes into “Care and Maintenance” they keep on limited staff to protect the equipment of the mine so that they can use it when the mine starts up again Twickenham went into Care and Maintenance in 2016 and retrenched thousands of workers. They said then that they will open again. The mine operates in the land belonging to the forefathers of the community members, therefor affected communities should benefit not suffer while minerals are being mined on their land. They should be employed, not only them but their grandchildren as long as the mine is operating. They cannot live in poverty with no employment when the mine extracts minerals that are on their land

Community members who were employed by the mine have been retrenched There are still people who are working The communities directly affected are Mantsekane, Ditwebeleng, Mashabela, Morapaneng, Modimole and Swazimnyamane.

The campaign has been coordinated by SCMAC (Sekhukhune Combined Mining Affected Communities) with the support of many local organisations.

Khudusho ya Badudi ka lebaka la meepo

Relocation of community due to mining

le tseo di latelago:

1) Go khudushwa ka maleba malebana le diphahlo tsa go senyega ge ba khuduswa. 2) Go hwetsa kwano ya nako ya tlhokomelo ya dintlo (maintenance).

Ke pharela ya taba go bahudushwa ka molao wa Bill of rights section 15(2) gape le gore bahudushwa ba gateletswe mo karolong ya molaotheo wa naga ya Afrika Borwa. Badudi ba Malengine ba angwa ke moepo wa Bokoni Platinum wo o ba khudushitsego Bahudushwa ba tlogelane le mabitla a bahu ba bona ntle le kwano ya maleba Ka se Afrika mabitla a bahu a a hlomphiwa le go kgolwa ka dinako tse dingwe MaAfrika a nale tumelo ya go bolela le bahu ba bona ge go le tseo ba nyakago go ba begela go ba go kgopela badimong ba bona.

Ke go tloga ngwageng wa 2014 go fihla ngwageng wa 2018 kgweding ya Diphalane ge bahudushwa ba badumela go bolela le rena(Malengine Corruption Watch) malebana le dintlo. Se o ga se tharollo go bahudushwa bjalo ka ge Mr Malesa a hlagisha sello sa go epologa ga lebitla la ngwana wa gagwe maruping a gagwe Seo se diregile ka morago ga nako ye telele yeo e tserwego ke ba moepo wa Bokoni Platinum go khudusha mabitla ao mola a mangwe a senywa le ke diruiwa. Tharollo ke gore moepo o lokishe dintlo ka potlako ka ge kwano ya bona e le go fetsa dintlo tseo gore go shutishwe mabitla ka ge a senywa

Relocation of community due to mining Sections in the communities of Monametse, Tipeng, Mokgotho le Thabaneng in Fetakgomo Tubatse in Limpopo Province have been relocated by Bokoni Platinum mine to Malengine in March 2014. The graves they left behind have been destroyed by rain and livestock because the mine is not delaying the process of relocating the graves This has created lot of confusion regarding their African beliefs of the affected communities. As per their agreement, the mine should fix their houses and then relocate the graves

Mining of stones for make tombstones a danger to the community

21 July 2022

Thobejane Boitumelo Ditwebeleng, Fetakgomo Tubatse,

The issue that I identified in tombstone mining industry a lot of disadvantages and every household use tombstones those who have passed on

The tombstone mining has over years now Miners have tombstone on mountains that people's homes and now those mountains and still tombstones They have mountains that are near people's could be a danger to community at large. The mining from unemployment but home comes with many explosives that they use breaks windows, penetrate structural damage and materials contributes to structures collapsing cause injuries to people The people of the village, people responsible for the together to agree on moving are near the mountains to the people in the community from getting their homes cracks

This kind of mining is also some trees grow in between removing the stones might destroy the trees. Our mountains control water if is raining and this mining can cause floods to nearby villages Another issue is some stones can cause accidents. This destroys our heritage and the beauty that mountains add to our land

Tunatazama Southern African Network

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