The unending battle by the NPA to stop the re-opening of the mine is not a “nice thing” to the suffering community members who need jobs immediately.
Community members have marched to the Optimum Coal Mine near Middleburg to express a feeling of unhappiness with the manner in which the powerful are depriving them of job opportunities while they continue to fight unending battles for the ultimate ownership of the Gupta-owned mine.
The community members don’t care about “any guy” that buys the mine as long as that will restore the economic stability of the area that has been the norm since Africa’s biggest mine began operating many decades ago.
“We don’t have an income as we speak, for the past 4 years and then this whole thing that the government is doing, can we really say that this is fair to us?” one employee told the 013NEWS reporter on the sidelines of the march.
“This government can’t be serious. They can play their political games but for how long how?” another worker – who is now struggling to make ends meet – told 013NEWS while others sang struggle songs.
The National Prosecuting Authority is currently at the Tshwane High Court, opposing the sale of the Optimum Coal Mine to a company called Liberty Coal – which NPA lawyer Mathew Chaskalson argues is linked to the Gupta family and is a way by the family to get the mine via the back door.
The state legal institution says the owner of Liberty Coal businessman Daniel McGowan has a history of being a man who once facilitated the transfer of a top Dubai property to former President Jacob Zuma’s child Duduzane thus it’s not okay for him to acquire ownership of the mine.
The mine is currently up for sale but workers say they don’t have a problem with anybody that buys it as long as the thousands of workers languishing at home will go back to work when it resumes operating.
They feel the NPA is doing the bidding of certain pseudo elements in businessman-cum-politician President Cyril Ramaphosa’s circle, who want to get the lucrative mine for themselves and continue to make billions through Eskom evergreen contracts and the mine’s Richards Bay export terminal.
The marchers have given the NPA a period of 72 hours to allow the sale of the mine to go through otherwise there will be chaos.
The NPA wants to forfeit the mine as it was allegedly brought through proceeds of crime – South Africa’s alleged state capture.
“We as the affected community have resolved that we will take direct action to preserve the livelihood and future of our families,” the MAM said in a statement.
Community spokesman Clifford Masinga said for the past 4 years they have been watching as the mighty and powerful play football with their livelihoods but they have now grown even more hopeless when seeing that a state institution meant to protect them as the poor and vulnerable has also joined in and sought to oppress the community.
Masinga led hundreds of community members to the gates of the Optimum Colliery Friday 11 March 2022 and were expected to get there and “occupy the mine” but that didn’t happen on Friday.
#013NewsFlash | WATCH: The community of #Middelburg and #Hendrina have arrived at the #OptimumCoal mine to demand that the NPA stop frustrating the sale of the mine so that people in the community can work again. They have are threatening to occupy the mine if the #NPA continues pic.twitter.com/Gww2w2a84q
— 013NEWS (@my013News) March 11, 2022
Delivering their grievance at the gate of Optimum, Masinga said they are giving the NPA 72 hours to withdraw their “malicious action” else they will begin moving in and mining themselves.
“We have all the skills and capacity to mine for ourselves. It’s us who are working in this mine, not the Guptas, not the NPA. We know how to mine for ourselves.
“On Monday we will be back here and we will occupy and begin mining in order to put food on our tables. We are not scared. We have been suffering since 4 years ago, we are not scared to face what we have to face.
(edited by MLM)
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