Illegal miners a problem for golf club
For the club, the whole situation is costly.
The lockdown South Africa is under due to the outbreak of the coronavirus will be difficult for many and for some it will make the issues they are already dealing with more stressful.
Royal Oak Country Club has had issues with illegal miners digging on the golf course, and with the country shutting down it will be even more difficult to monitor the grounds.
“I don’t know what they are getting from there, but it is a big problem,” said the club’s director, Kenneth Dube.
Too often in recent months the club’s workers have arrived on the course to find there has been lots of digging done the previous night.
Even the fencing around the course is not enough to keep the illegal miners out as the trespassers have taken down the electric fence.
Read: Police in pursuit of illegal miners
Dube told the Herald efforts to get the police involved did not help.
“The police said they are scared to come out at night,” he said.
“If the police are scared then what can we do as private citizens? They are supposed to protect us.”
The law enforcers, on the other hand, stated they cannot patrol private property at night.
“Private businesses have to provide their own security,” said Brakpan police spokesperson Capt Pearl van Staad.
For the club, the whole situation is costly.
Besides the issue of having to fix the holes dug by the illegal miners, who are also known as zama zamas, it is also difficult to keep the players and club members’ minds at ease.
Dube pointed out the players worry about their safety.
With Royal Oak situated on former mining ground, some may think the land has developed sinkholes, but this is not the case.
While the shutdown will mean no golf for at least 21 days for the players, Dube added their maintenance workers will still be working and hopefully they can get the grounds back to top condition.
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