The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) says it has written two letters to President Cyril Ramaphosa to speed up the process of compensation for Marikana victims and their families but has received no reply.
This comes as the country marks the ninth anniversary of the Marikana tragedy on Monday when 34 miners died in a hail of police bullets. AMCU says the families of the deceased have not yet found closure.
Remembering the Marikana massacre with AMCU President, Joseph Mathunjwa
AMCU president Joseph Mathunjwa says they will virtually commemorate the incident on Monday.
“It also puzzles us why is the state is so reluctant to conclude the payment. Those injured like Makidiwane and those who were seriously injured. They haven’t even paid a cent even today. We as AMCU we continue trying to complete those houses that we built for them but because of the COVID, it did delay us.”
Marikana tragedy will remain a part of South Africa’s darkest history: Mpofu
Former legal representative of the families of slain Lonmin workers, Advocate Dali Mpofu says the Marikana tragedy will remain a part of South Africa’s darkest history.
The workers were demanding a R12 500 wage when police shot and killed 34 of their colleagues at the Wonderkop Koppie outside Rustenburg in North West.
Mpofu says despite the Farlam Commission’s findings and recommendations, more questions than answers remain.
“Unlike the Sharpville, Langa, Soweto, and Alexandra Massacres and all the other massacres that occurred under the apartheid, Marikana was the first massacre that happened since the dawn of democracy. However, in those times we could say well it’s the apartheid government, what do you expect? But now these are the people that ourselves have chosen to lead us out of that mess and they came and did exactly the same thing that was done by the oppressor.”
Meanwhile, the CEO of Sibanye Still Water, formerly Lonmin, Neal Froneman, says the company has succeeded in engaging all parties affected by the August 2012 tragedy, to discuss securing the much-needed jobs.
“We can never fully understand what happened in 2012 but we’ve seen the impact on the community of Marikana and we therefore took a continuous decision that we meaningfully contribute towards the solutions by all stakeholders in the short time that we’ve been managing Marikana operations. We’ve succeeded in restoring the operation credibility and securing the license and the jobs that they had.”
Marikana Massacre 9 years on
