Residents of Riverlea, south of Johannesburg, say they don’t believe the deployment of specialised police units to the area, will stop the problem of illegal mining in the long term.
Scores of disgruntled residents have gathered at the local sports field to voice their concerns to Police Minister Bheki Cele.
The minister, together with his top officials, are engaging the residents in an attempt to end illegal mining, and find lasting solutions to stabilise the area.
Earlier this week the, the minister deployed specialised units to the area, which has since resulted in more than 100 arrests of suspected illegal miners.
Community leader Bernice Joubert explains, “I don’t think it’s going to be very good after this, once he is gone, maybe a few days a week at the most. And everything will be back to normal. So, I think they need to have mobile units at certain points like the hotspots because they cannot just leave us. Minister, my plea to you and government, is bring in the army, bring in Home Affairs and immigration and do a human chain around Zamimphilo and arrest them and take them back to their countries.”
Riverlea Focus | Besieged residents call for deployment of SANDF:
