The Democratic Alliance (DA) has urged the government to promptly initiate an inquiry into the illegal mining crisis at a disused mine in Stilfontein, North West. This request follows the conclusion of court-ordered government-led rescue operations, during which all illegal miners were reported to have been brought to the surface.
This week, a total of 246 illegal miners were rescued, and 78 bodies were recovered.
Since the beginning of police’s Vala Umgodi Operations at the disused mine, 1907 illegal miners have been brought to the surface and 87 bodies retrieved. DA MP and spokesperson on Mineral and Petroleum Resources, James Lorimer says, “We think that the people involved, SAPS and the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources should have their conduct examined because this is a disaster. We’ve got 78 people dead so far.”
Lorimer says, “So we want to see whether everybody had been doing their job as they were supposed to and we won’t be able to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. So that’s why we need a full investigation. We can’t have SAPS and the department investigate themselves and that’s why we think the most appropriate vehicle for this would be an independent commission of inquiry.”
