Some still have faith that mining will save Kimberley

21 February 2016 - 02:00 By LUCKY BIYASE

Rufaro Mokunupa, 63, a former De Beers employee who has lived in Galeshewe all his life, is furious that one of South Africa's oldest townships remains largely poor despite years of diamond mining nearby."It pains me to see our youth unemployed. It pains me to see former mineworkers who worked in the mines until they were 60 years old, but are still poorer than before and some of them sick," says Mokunupa, who worked as an assistant telephone technician at De Beers. When he left the mine he became a Rastafarian musician.The story of Galeshewe, near the historic mining town of Kimberley, is one of poverty and unemployment compounded by high levels of illiteracy as well as dwindling economic activity resulting from the slowdown in mining.Locals can see no economic spin-offs from the mining.Nyasha Tangayi, 43, a mother of three, says she has never worked a day in the mines or in any other formal industry in the area."The only thing I know is to stand on the corners of the streets in town and look for piece jobs. I did get some jobs to do washing and cleaning the houses. That is the only way I have known how to survive. I am mother and father of my children and I survive by the grace of God."Her neighbour, Veronica Booysen, 33, a mother of two, says their children can go to school only because of the R330 grant that they get from the government."The only employment that comes by is that of a two-month contract that comes with the Expanded Public Works Programme," she says.There has never been any opportunity in Galeshewe and everything is just poverty, says another resident, Betty Papier, a mother of two boys."We are at the mercy of politicians. You see, now that elections are around the corner, we are beginning to see them. Other than that we never see our councillor," Papier says.All three women say they were approached by the ANC to go around urging people to vote, with the promise of a better life.They said the party offered only half a plate of food in return for what would be a full day's work.Galeshewe residents were speaking to Business Times this month following the sale in December byDe Beers of its Kimberley Mines to a joint venture between Ekapa Mining and Petra Diamonds.Ekapa, with a 50.1% stake, and Petra with 49.9%, will bring experience in tailing dams treatment and underground mining respectively. De Beers shut down the Kimberley underground operations in 2005, leaving the surface operations. Petra put the mine under care and maintenance in 2007. It was allowed to operate underground under the De Beers licence until mid-2010, when the acquisition was made. In December last year, the two companies formed the joint venture that acquired De Beers's remaining surface operations.Sharon Steyn, CEO of the Northern Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says she is confident the joint venture will create jobs in the area. "Petra and Ekapa have very strong local links. They will definitely do what is good for Kimberley in terms of procuring locally. It's good to have people like them rather than have people who will extract whatever they can and leave us. "It is time that the town, which has an unemployment rate of 42%, stopped relying on mining and cast its net wider in terms of business development and job creation, she says.Companies have left town because many people believe that with De Beers gone, everything is gone, she says. Businesses have been flocking to Kuruman because of renewable energy projects there."The fact of the matter is that De Beers is still here [in Kimberley] and their head office is still here," Steyn says.On the other side of town, in Beaconsfield, a former white suburb, scores of unemployed young people roam the streets complaining about a lack of jobs. James Engelbrecht says he has been at home since he was laid off by a company contracted to Transnet."We heard about the new company taking over from De Beers. But already we hear that the same company will be shedding about 400 jobs. Anyway, mines coming here bring their own people. They only hire a few here to do the dirty jobs. We are in trouble. We sit here every day to drink," he says.Petra spokesman Gert Klopper says he is aware of the lay-off rumours, which are unfounded. At no point did Petra (or Ekapa) indicate that retrenchments were contemplated...

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