As this year marks the tenth anniversary of the Marikana Massacre, in which 34 mineworkers were killed by the South African Police Service during a protest at the Lonmin platinum mine, in Rustenburg, University of the Witwatersrand-based human rights organisation Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) says government and Sibanye-Stillwater, which has since acquired Lonmin’s operations, have not done much to remedy the damage.
Human rights nonprofit Amnesty International South Africa agrees, explaining that government has failed to deliver on a promised 2 658 houses in Marikana. Instead, only about 500 houses have been completed since the Marikana Extension 2 Integrated Development Project began in the 2014/15 financial year.
In a release issued by government on August 16, Presidency Minister Mondli Gungubele says the Department of Human Settlements launched the R700-million housing project, including bulk infrastructure, in Marikana, but the 511 housing units that have been built were illegally occupied before they could be handed over to the qualifying beneficiaries.
The houses were supposed to be delivered over a period of three years. The mining company in charge of the mine at the time, Lonmin, had donated 50 ha of land for government to build accommodation units for both Lonmin employees and local community members.
Lonmin itself was also found to have been negligent in its promises long before the Marikana Massacre, as it committed to building 5 500 houses for migrant employees in its 2006 social labour plan (SLP), but only built three houses.
The judicial commission of inquiry, the Farlam Commission, that investigated the events leading up to the massacre, as well as the ten people that were killed leading up to the date of the massacre, found in 2015 that Lonmin had failed to adhere to the terms of its legally binding SLP with regard to housing.
This created an environment conducive to tension and labour unrest, the commission confirmed.
Lonmin in 2014 submitted a revised SLP committing to build infill apartments, which would replace the 5 500 houses that were originally committed to. In the end, Lonmin only produced 1 240 apartments under this project, despite the fact that the SLP indicated there was an opportunity to build 4 000 units over the following five years.
Lonmin said at the time that it did not find any financial partners and workers did not want to buy the 5 500 planned houses; however, the Farlam Commission rejected this argument, not least because it is not what the SLP of 2006 actually stated.
The SLP provided a capital budget for the housing programme and said it would be offered for rental and sale. It also made no mention of the plans being dependent on a partnership with a property developer.
Amnesty International South Africa executive director Shenilla Mohamed says government’s failure to deliver on its promises and hold mines accountable has a negative impact on human rights.
LEGACY ACCOUNTABILITY
Meanwhile, CALS environmental justice head Dr Louis Snyman says that the mining company that has since taken over the Lonmin mine, Sibanye, is “evading accountability” and still favours profits over people.
He states that ten years on, the situation in Marikana has not changed much.
An employee survey conducted by Sibanye in 2017 shows that 63% of employees are interested in investing in their place of work. Of those, 33% want to buy a house, 28% want to upgrade their house and 27% want to build a house and need to secure a loan.
In Sibanye’s 2019 to 2023 SLP, the company states that 65% of employees were facing creditworthiness challenges and 29% affordability challenges, preventing them from buying a home.
Sibanye’s 2021 Integrated Report says four home ownership transactions have been concluded related to the Marikana operations, with another 53 home ownership transactions having been lodged for transfer.
Snyman and Mohamed say that, while the mining company has promised to support employees who are over-indebted and have a negative credit record, it has not provided details on how this will be done and measured. The current SLP also has no specific targets related to housing.
Meanwhile, government says in a statement issued on August 16 that it remains committed to changing the painful legacy that came to define the Marikana community.
Government says it is pursuing Marikana renewal interventions alongside Sibanye, and continues to implement the recommendations of the Farlam Commission.
“Since that unfortunate incident, government has been working tirelessly to ensure all the recommendations made by the Farlam Commission are implemented. We use this day to reflect on the progress we have made in improving the police service, and the progress having been made to improve the conditions [for] mineworkers,” it says.
The statement further mentions that more than R176-million has been paid to affected claimants of the Marikana Massacre, with half of the 48 cases having been settled. He affirms that outstanding matters that are before the courts will be finalised by the end of August, as directed by Judge Aubrey Ledwaba, who has instructed the parties to settle each matter on a case-management basis.