The eviction of hundreds of illegal miners, operating in and around Kimberley, is eminent with a notice from the sheriff of the court giving them less than a week to comply or face forced removal.
While nearly a thousand informal miners yesterday marched on the Kimberley Police Station to demand action against mining company Kimberley Ekapa Mining Joint Venture (KEM-JV), their pending eviction may well prove to be a more pressing concern after they were given five days to vacate or face the wrath of the law.
While chairperson of the Kimberley Artisanal Miners (KAMW), Lucky Seekoei, said that the miners had not been informed when the eviction order would be implemented, a notice of eviction, dated September 29 2017, was due to be handed over to the leadership of the illegal miners following yesterday’s march.
According to the notice the miners have been given five days to vacate several properties that were listed in the Northern Cape High Court judgement, which granted the eviction order in January this year.
The properties include a number of erfs adjacent to the Kenilworth farm as well as portions of Bultfontein, Dorstfontein, Rooifontein and Benauwdheidsfontein.
Failure to comply within the allotted time will result in the execution of the court order without further notice.
Yesterday’s march concluded with the handing over of a memorandum of grievances to the SAPS cluster commander for the Frances Baard District, Major-General Jean Abrahams, who accepted it on behalf of the provincial commissioner.
This memorandum questioned why no action was taken against the KEM-JV for its alledged legal transgressions while the informal miners were continuously being persecuted.
“The interest of serving our country and the Constitution selflessly, has been replaced by the interests of fighting to fill individuals’ pockets,” it stated. “The use of state institutions as personal spaza shops has become the norm and culture of those from the ranks of leadership.”
The informal miners acknowledged the Constitutional Court’s ruling in favour of the mining company.
They also accused KEM-JV of contravening section 11 of the Mineral Petroleum Resource Development Act (MPRDA) which prohibits the transfer of rights without the express permission of the DMR.
The legislation relates to the transfer of prospecting and mining rights and stipulates that the consent of the minister of Mineral Resources is required, in writing, before the rights may be awarded to a new party unless there is a change in the controlling interest of listed companies.
While awaiting the written consent, mining contracts may allow a person other than the mining rights holder to undertake physical extraction of minerals, but failure to procure consent voids any agreements
However, should the prospective permit holder be capable of complying with the terms and conditions of the rights in question and satisfy the requirements stipulated in the MPRDA, the minister is obliged to give consent.
Serious allegations were also levelled against a high ranking police official, whom the miners claim supplied KEM-JV security guards with the rubber bullets used on September 13 when violence broke out at one of the mining sites located along the Boshof road.
Shortly after this incident, spokesperson for KEM-JV, Gert Klopper, denied any knowledge of how a spent SAPS-issued cartridge, complete with a unique reference number, came to be photographed on the scene, claiming that legitimate channels had been followed by mine security when procuring ammunition.
However, following the shooting, several shells were collected by the miners and handed over to the SAPS as evidence.
“We brought the proof and laid charges against the perpetrator, but nothing has been done to bring him to book. He is still wearing a SAPS uniform. This is a clear indication of collusion between him and the mining company. The same unfair, brutal treatment was the historical practice of the Apartheid regime.”
The miners demanded a response from the police by no later than next Friday, failing which they will embark on further protests and will also call on the Minister of Police to intervene.
“We are very pleased with the way the march went,” Seekoei said yesterday afternoon. “There were no incidents nor hassles and the protestors were fully compliant.
“In terms of the MPRDA, Ekapa can only mine on behalf of De Beers, but the community needs to be allowed to give input before operations can commence. This has not happened, yet we are the only ones being criticised for mining illegally.”
Seekoei said he was unaware of a notice from the sheriff of the court, regarding the eviction, adding that at this stage, their operations are continuing unabated.
Spokesperson for Petra Diamonds, Egbert Klapwijk, said that all relevant and legal prescripts had been followed during the process of transferring the rights from De Beers to KEM-JV but declined to comment on the miners’ memorandum.
“As this latest memorandum was not specifically addressed to us we, at this juncture, will withhold comment regarding its contents,” he said.
Despite requests for comment, the police in the Province failed to respond to media enquiries at the time of going to print.