Community not satisfied with mine’s vague answers
The ward councillor for Ward 20 said she is hopeful that with all the new regulations and the close eye of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, the blasting at Uitspan Mine will be done within the regulated guidelines from here on.
Residents in Jackaroo Park, Blancheville, and agricultural holdings in Ward 20 are not happy with the outcome of a recent community meeting.
They attended the meeting on October 18 to make their voices heard by key players from Uitspan Mine regarding blastings in the area.
Uitspan Mine and its contractor, Masemanzi Mining Holdings, were put in the hot seat as complaints were ‘blasted’ from all over the hall.
Robert Tiberi, a homeowner wanted to know if the residents in the ward will be compensated for the damages caused by recent blasts.
Donawin Willemse raised an interesting question regarding boreholes and wanted to know if boreholes have been polluted by mining activities.
“Nobody here drinks their tap water. We buy water and this costs R80-100 per week, but we still bath in this dirty water.”
Henryette Jacobs lives near a number of coal washeries in Jackaroo Park, Witbank. @GovernmentZA, it’s time to #BreakFree from fossil fuels! pic.twitter.com/abzVWeJevg— Greenpeace Africa (@Greenpeaceafric) May 19, 2018
Homeowners wanted clear answers, but the panel representing the mining and contractor entities could not answer the questions as expected by the attendees.
Ward councillor for Ward 20, Clr Maureen Scheepers was very disappointed with how the mine and contractor handled the opportunity to engage with the community.
“It is unfortunate that the main contractor representatives did not come prepared with the answers that the community requires. The community was not interested in knowing what they had to do to be compliant with the uplifting of Section 54. The community wants to know who will be liable for the damages on their properties.”
She said since she started receiving complaints originating from this mine a few years ago, this was the first meeting where the contractor had agreed to meet with the community.
“In my opinion, this was purely for compliance towards the new Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) conditions and not because they want to find an amicable solution between the mine and the affected community,” she said.
She said she is however positive that with all the new regulations and the close eye of the DMRE, the blasting will be done within the regulated guidelines from here on.
“But that does not change the fact that hundreds of residents are still left with damaged properties and unanswered questions concerning the past blasting that took place over the years.”
Klaas Pesha from Masemanzi Mining Holdings was asked by WITBANK NEWS to comment but he has not responded by the time going to print.
Local news | Residents not happy about mine blasts bring DMRE offices to a standstillhttps://t.co/pHJZHG8HQihttps://t.co/vkAVnD5dr3#DMRE #WitbankNews #Mine #LocalNews
— WitbankNews (@WitbankN) October 19, 2023
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