GOOD speech by Brett Herron,
GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
08 September 2022
Note: This is the speech that was delivered by GOOD Secretary-General and Member of Parliament, Brett Herron, during today’s debate on persistent illegal mining activities and concomitant crimes.
Mining companies that fail to comply with their obligations to clean up their mess and rehabilitate the land…
A State shot through with corruption, and functionally incapable of holding mining companies to account…
An economy incapable of generating the number of jobs necessary to put food on citizens’ tables…
These ingredients have converged to create a thriving and well-organised illegal mining industry in South Africa, with devastating economic, social and environmental impacts.
Mining was long the cornerstone of the South African economy, with massive profits to be made on the back of exploited and oppressed labour.
While the formal industry’s contribution to GDP has waned, it remains a critical component of the economy today.
With raw materials being depleted over the decades, in a society marred by unsustainable inequality, it is imperative that we both protect our remaining assets and ensure that, when they are exploited, the benefits accrue to law-abiding citizens rather than criminals engaged in criminal syndicates.
The vicious, heartless attack by illegal miners on young women conducting a film shoot in Krugersdorp, in July, focused national attention on the brutality of life and disregard for law in the illegal mining badlands.
But too little is said about illegal mining’s ecological and environmental impact.
Mining, generally, comes with profound environmental effects. Leaving them to fix the mistakes we make today and tomorrow will place massive burdens on our children and grandchildren.
We have instruments in place to assist us, but we don’t administer them effectively. Some legal mines are able to evade environmental risk assessments, which can force them to mitigate some of their worst impacts.
It is a mine’s contractual duty to set aside funds for the refilling of landfills, replanting trees and attempting to leave the environment the way they found it.
The problem is that the State’s maladministered systems are unable to hold them to account.
Mines go out of business, leaving things wide open for further exploitation by the illegal miners hanging in the wings.
The biggest loser is the environment. It should not be government’s duty to pick up the pieces, but because its ineptitude it must ultimately bear the responsibility.
We must enforce stricter regulations and greater financial penalties for mines that fail to meet the environmental code.
Mine-owners must be forced to make good on their obligations before they escape with the money to Dubai or Switzerland.
Illegal miners, of course, don’t subscribe to any codes or regulations. They must be policed.
Media Enquiries:
Brett Herron, GOOD: Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
Cell: 0825183264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za
Janke Tolmay, GOOD: Media Manager
Cell: 0733671223
Email: janke@forgood.org.za