The Minerals and Energy Affairs Minister, Gwede Mantashe, has come out guns blazing against the statement by ActionSA leader, Herman Mashaba.
Mashaba says government had treated the families of three Lily mine workers who were buried underground with disdain.
The DMRE report makes NO investigation into the retrievability of the #LilyMine container, yet it makes a finding that it is irretrievable.
These families, the media, the people of South Africa have been lied to.
We will force this government to retrieve that container!
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) September 23, 2020
Their bodies have yet to be recovered after four years.
Mantashe accuses Mashaba of trivialising a serious issue to score cheap political points. This was the first comment of the minister since Mashaba made the accusations this week.
He says the ActionSA leader is even twisting facts to suit his narrative.
“Mashaba wants the votes. We must accept that and when wants those votes he will not make the distinction between and he will lashed out at anything that smells the ANC,” says Mantashe.
Mantashe says contrary to what Mashaba suggests, his department is still pursuing this matter.
However, there are limitations.
“Lily mine is a privately owned mine. We are trying to work with the owners to say let’s get those remains out.”
Mantashe also indicated that efforts are still continuing to try and resolve this matter. But Mashaba has vowed to pursue legal action to force the government to retrieve the three bodies.
In the video below, Mashaba set to force government to retrieve bodiess of Lily mine workers:
