Bontekoe mine disaster, Kleinzee, Namaqualand
On Tuesday, 22 May 2012, approximately 19 people were trapped while digging for diamonds in an abandoned mining area, owned by De Beers Namaqualand Mines. All 19 is thought dead, 10 bodies have been taken out so far.
One young man, only 35 years old, was there for the first time. His entirely family is unemployed and he had a small son to take care of.
After 90 years of mining diamonds along the Namaqualand West Coast, De Beers are now selling the mine, no longer viable for them to mine, on to Trans Hex, a company that does not have a good reputation when it comes to either social responsibility or rehabilitation.
Over the past few years, clearly already decided that selling the mine on will be their next step, De Beers have progressively retrenched workers. In an area with very little livelihood options, the majority of people in the area depended on the mine for an income. After 90 years of making money from the area, De Beers have failed to plan for the economic vacuum that will be left as they downscaled mining. This company had plenty of time to develop viable, sustainable livelihood options to replace mining activities and they enough money to implement it. After vague talk about a high securiy prison and a toxic waste site, the kind of developments no one wants to see in Namaqualand, all went quiet. It appears De Beers has not even run a public participation process to hear from the very people who worked for them over the years, what it is that would work for them.
The diamond diggers that died were unemployed and desperate. Father and son died together, two brothers died together. Unemployment, as a direct result of the lack of social responsbility be De Beers, have driven these people to scramble around in narrow tunnels, in 60 degrees Celsius heat, and with very little oxygen, to try and find diamond bearing gravel so they can put bread on the table. Now they are dead and De Beers are saying they are not responsible, that these people digged illegally. They are advertising on the radio how selling the mine on to Trans Hex will create 500 jobs, but what they don't say is that in the mine's heyday more than 2000 people worked there. They are now saying they will implement projects for economic development, but they are not saying what and when.
Is this super-rich and apparently ruthless, company going to get away with this? People from the communities of Hondeklipbaai and Kommagas are already saying that these deaths will not stop other people from trying to dig, there just are no other options for people.
I have started a group on Facebook called "Bontekoe Disaster Namaqualand". Please search for it and join and let's try and get this story out as far and wide as we can. Invite your friends to join and please discuss it on Dlist. If we keep quiet about this, De Beers will walk away scot-free and 19 people would have died for nothing.
Bontekoe mine disaster, Kleinzee, Namaqualand
The Bontekoe mining disaster, which can be closely linked to the desperate actions by impoverishment of coastal communities and dangerous and unrehabilitated mining areas has now caught the attention of many stakeholders not only in the region but further afield. There are calls at ground level for the site to be declared a Heritage Site and a place of remembrance, to commemorate the legacy that left by mining after almost a century during which wealth was exported from the region. For further details including poems written in the honour of those who died under rock and gravel, and for their families, please visit:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/225427864240824/#!/groups/225427864240824/
Bontekoe mine disaster, Kleinzee, Namaqualand
It is good to hear voices from all along the coast talking about the issue of big corporate mining companies moving into an area, taking out all its riches and then leaving communities in the area with degraded land and a degraded economy.
This is how people used to do business in the past - it was exploitive and was only aimed at making as much money as possible why going to as little cost as possible. But the world is changing and it is no longer acceptable to do business like that. These days some companies are committed to the socially and environmentally responsible and really do their bit to achieve this. Unfortunately there are companies that only creates an image of social and environmental responsibility, while in reality ,they leave destruction in their wake. This is caused by nothing else but greed.
De Beers has reached the end of what would be profitable mining of diamonds for them in Namaqualand, so they decide to sell the mine to Trans Hex. De Beers has a social and environmental responsibility plan, but there is a law that says they can amend it, even after consultation with the public and they don't have to consult the public again to do this amendment. This is a weak point in the law and one that De Beers used to cut drastically the amount committed for environmental rehabilitation. As for the social responsibility it seems they have dropped that altogether. According to De Beers selling the mine to Trans Hex will create 500 jobs, but that still leaves 1500 without jobs of the 2000 that used to work at the mine. They advertise on Radio NFM, on whose management they apparently sit and which receives money from them monthly, that they have launched a small grant fund to boost small business. The reality, however is, that this is not a grant mechanism, but a fund where people can make soft loans. Like one person from Hondeklipbaai said: "Why do I have to borrow money from De Beers that they should spend on this community anyway?"
The question is: What is De Beers going to do for social responsibility? Can they show us a detailed plan of what they will do to meet their social responsibility and will they be able to prove that they have consulted thoroughly and extensively with the Namaqualand coastal communities? Will government hold them to their responsibilities?
By selling the mine on to Trans Hex, De Beers hands over the responsibility for social and environmental restoration to Trans Hex. At the moment many people from the area is pleading that the Minister of Mineral Resources must not sign to approve the sale, so that De Beers can be held accountable. If the sale does go through, what will happen is that, eventually Trans Hex will sell on to another company, smaller than itself, who in turn, will sell to an even smaller company. With each sale the budget for social and environmental responsibility will shrink until, in the end, there will be no money and the taxpayer will have to pay to try and salvage something and it will not be enough. This happens all over the world and it can only be stopped by insisting that a mining company must meet all its obligations before selling.Then they can sell.
The only people who can change the way in which companies like De Beers are behaving, is the people affected by it directly. The stronger the voices from the ground, calling to both such companies and the government, the more they have to listen. We must never believe that we are too weak and too powerless to bring change for the better, simply because we aren't. Our country's constitution says that everyone has the right to a good life, it is ensconced in that declaration. All we have to do is talk and not stop talking and we must speak to the right people and take our wishes to those in governmnet departments that has the power to make a decision. Lobbying can take a long time, but if people stick to it and their voices grow stronger, they will make a difference.
A point has also been made about programs, both of government and ngo's, that are aimed to improve the livelihoods of coastal people. Often these programs start with great fanfare, many promises are made, only to petre out with nothing to show for it. This is demoralising in the extreme. Just when you start to have hope for a better future through these programs, the whole thing collapses once again. Eventually people start to believe that no one are really serious about working with them to bring along a better life. Governments and NGO's have a moral obligation to design sustainable plans for livelihood creation, ensure that the people for whom these plans must work has been part of it every step of the way and must stay committed to the course until these programs are working and working well.
Diamond mining's legacy of death
On Saturday, 9 June 2012, Aubrey Boois, better known as "Boontjie" to his friends and family, was buried in the Namaqualand coastal village of Hondeklip Bay, where he lived. Aubrey was one of 10 victims of the Bontekoe mining disaster that happened when the tunnels where unemployed and impoverished people from Namaqualand digged for diamonds in a desperate bid to put food on the table. Over 200 people attended the funeral and it was clear that this bright young man who had so much potential, was much loved.
It was heartbreaking to see the grieve at the loss of such a beloved person and terrible to think that the young man we all knew never got the opportunity to live out his potential. Instead of having access to the many riches of the region where he lived so that he could make a good living, care for his small son of 8 years old and continue to be the valuable member of society he was, Aubrey was reduced to crawling around in a narrow tunnel and lost his life on the very first time he took the last option left to him, digging for diamonds.
From conversations with people after the funeral it is clear that the communities from the Namaqualand coast sees this tragedy, and the loss of their friend, as a direct result of the lack of the De Beers mining company to implement proper and decent social and environmental responsibility plans, as well as government's neglect to enforce the laws that will force De Beers to do so and neglect to restore land to the community.
The 10 people who lost their lives at Bontekoe is not the first. Several people has died in the past few years who were also trying to dig diamonds in order to make a living. Everyone we spoke to at the funeral also said that these will not be the last ones that might loose their lives, as the poverty and lack of employment will continue to drive people to find the only resource available to them, diamonds.
Many young people attended the funeral and it was clear that Aubrey was close to them. They saw what it cost him to try and make a living. Is that the only vision for the young generation of these coastal villages? That to make a living you have to risk your life? Right where they live there are so many ways these young people could make a livelihood from: a beautiful and rich coastline that could support eco-tourism, mariculture, research, stock farming, small mining, wind farms and so much more - but they need access to their resources. And they need the big mining companies that have grown rich beyond words to implement real and decent social responsibility plans to fill the economic vacuum they have left.
Surely the day has now come that the many wrongs of the past must be made right so that Aubrey and the nine other with him, did not die for nothing. Surely their must come an end to the despair I saw on so many faces at the funeral.
One thing that could become a powerful symbol of remembrance and hope for the people of Namaqualand, and especially for the young people, would be to declare the Bontekoe area a heritage site. It would speak of the lethal legacy of bad mining practices and the injustices of the past that cut people of from their land and resources and it would serve as a catalyst to put in place mechanisms that would prevent this from ever happening again.
It is not only in Namaqualand that people have died and are still dying as a result of mining companies not meeting their obligations, it is a world wide phenomenon.
All the wealth of all the diamond companies in the world is not worth one life. Aubrey has died with his blood seeping into the very soil that could have sustained a livelihood for him if only he had access to that which was rightfully his and that of his fellow Namaqualanders.
It is a bitter thing to see a friend's coffin lowered into the ground, the more so because it could have been prevented. I hope to never see it again.
Bontekoe mine disaster, Kleinzee, Namaqualand
My deepest condolence to the families of these people. I do not wish to see such anymore but the government should make sure that companies take their cooperate social responsibilities (CSR).
Secondly to engage all stakeholders in discussion about mining issues before starting operation. I bealive "Prevention is better than cure" no one can cure death so preventing such disasters is possible. De Beers should be charged to compensate the families of the deceases. Rest in peace departed souls.
RE: DLIST Benguela: Bontekoe mine disaster, Kleinzee, Namaqualan
The death of Boointjie and the other miners who lost their lives in a desperate attempt to make a living in towns where unemployment, according to some sources soars to a 95%, once again underscores the failure in developing alternative livelihoods in the coastal communities along the West Coast of South Africa, in particular the Northern Cape. This is a coast rich in marine and other coastal resources, so why are the people then so poor? This is a question that all state, donor and other development and resources management programmes along this coast can no longer ignore.
Re: DLIST Benguela: Bontekoe mine disaster, Kleinzee, Namaqualan
I also echo Francois and Malinda's sentiment, but the question I am asking myself is to whom do we take the plight of the west coast communities to? who is going to listen? Me as a ward member of the Matzikama Municipality on IDP workshops, my voice gets lost in arguing for Public Transport, fair wages, fair job opportunities in economic development. I am aware that the progress is made in small steps. The issue with mining and the small handful of people that benefit is ludicrous. I think we need to look at how we can make our voices to be heard together. It is high time Civil Society, different Organizations and different spheres of Government stand as a unified voice. From my personal perspective it has taken me 9 years for my local communities to begin to trust and have faith in my opinions and it has only been through visibly seeing effort and bettering the environment to create future opportunities.
Coast Care roll out programs for instance and put over R18 million every two years to Coastal Projects between Saldanha Bay and the Olifants River.
But there is no structure in sustainability and helping to create jobs other that clean ups. There is money that could stretch a lot further and leave a permanent footprint when the program is finished, I have lobbied for more transparency, initiation of projects that they have lists of and ignore. I also don’t want to be the bearer of depressing issues as this program entails work for people, but to date some of the people are still awaiting payment from two to three months back and went without payment over Christmas and January (when school started). The people were too nervous to talk to the press in case they never saw their money ! I feel D LIST is a wonderful platform to share ideas. sentiments, grievance and I certainly commend the sustainability of this discussion forum Regards Suzanne du Plessis
RE: DLIST Benguela: Bontekoe mine disaster, Kleinzee, Namaqualan
It defies logical reasoning and rules of fair practice to see people losing their lives in such a horrible way in their own homeland. I must say South Africa and Namibia seems to have a lot of common problems and these problems seems to emanate from similar entities; mining companies such as De Beers (called NamDeb in Namibia), indifferent provincial/regional & local leaders and the worst of all very incompetent and indifferent central government officials. How does the governments of these two vastly resources-rich countries explain the dire and desperate situation of their population? And the weird thing is that, poverty is more pronounced in regions that are abundant in natural resources and sparsely populated especially in Namibia.
The other twist to this complex social, economic problem can be traced back into history and is to a certain appreciable degree tied to the question of land ownership, distribution of resources and the empowerment of rural and peri-urban communities (the latter being the so called informal settlements). People who have no land are less empowered and cannot produce anything to sustain themselves, thus very vulnerable. The rich companies have a social responsibility and moral obligation to take care of the communities in which they are carrying out business and that include ensuring those communities are left in a more powerful position when this companies eventually leaves. The various branches of government can play the role of ensuring those requirements on the part of the companies are met and carried out accordingly.
As for the family and the community that lost their young people in such a horrible manner, one can only say, let's make their deaths mean something and use it to make a difference as from today!
Tuazaana Ndunge
Technologist
Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of Namibia
Tel: +264 (0) 61 206 3589 - E-mail: tndunge@unam.na - Web: http://www.unam.na
Private Bag 13301, 340 Mandume Ndemufayo Ave, Pionierspark,Windhoek, NAMIBIA
RE: DLIST Benguela: Bontekoe mine disaster, Kleinzee, Namaqualan
Hi this is really a sad story and Government must take a stand now in alternative livelihood development, so that people can have access to the resources of nature which can bring bread for the people.
RE: DLIST Benguela: Bontekoe mine disaster, Kleinzee, Namaqua
Agreed, Abraham, this is actually a great opportunity for government to implement the government's plans for rural development and green economic development and it could become a model of what can be achieved through good support and planning.
RE: DLIST Benguela: Bontekoe mine disaster, Kleinzee, Namaquala
The question of why people are so poor on a coast that is so rich in resources is a good and valid one. The Namaqualand coast, at first glance might not look like much to the uninformed, but it has many resources, that if planned for sustainability, could provide good and decent livelihoods for the people of the coastal villages far into the future.
And the coast has had its fair share of attention - it is clear that this coast is considered important by many: ngo's, government and the private sector. Much has been talked about and many initiatives has been started, but both talk and initiatives seems to fizzle out after some time. Why is this? To make any plan work, all roleplayers must be on board, committed to the plan for the good of all and the plans must reflect the desires of those who are suppose to benefit from it and must be planned for sustainability. Without all of these factors, no plan will work.
Let's look at the Multi-Purpose Resource Centre initiative that was started a number of years ago at Hondeklipbaai. this was a good initiative that provided a hub around which many possibilities could be explored, planned and implemented: eco-tourism, kelp, small mining,mariculture, capacity building of local people, space for small enterprises, information and much more. It started off well, with young local people manning it and even started running at a small profit after two years. But then support from a vital link failed, namely that of local government and today the building that housed this vibrant hub is standing empty and vandalised. It could still work, it could still be fixed and from this centre, much can happen.
Organisations like the Namaqualand Action Group could operate from here, negotiating fair access to resources for small miners. They could be in immediate touch with other organisations, both local, national and international who could use the centre as a base, providing fertile exchange of ideas. Ideally local government should be represented here too, this would give them an instant finger on the pulse of the coast's issues and needs of people. Kelp, as a resource, can be revisited and enterprises could spring up around this resource. Kelp can be harvested and this could branch into businesses that either manufacture kelp products, like fertiliser or sell the kelp to companies who manufactures these products.
Instead of concessions being granted to people from Johannesburg, as we learned last weekend, mariculture concessions could be appliep for by local people, partnerships could be built around this to build capacity with local people to establish and run mariculture resources growing oysters, mussels and even limpets for a good income.
Restoration of the mining fields is something that should happen by law. The law states that mining areas has to be restored to their previous land use, which, in this case, would be grazing. Combined with a mighty effort to get access to land, stock farming could provide an income to some people. Restoration activities in itself could provide work for a number of people for many years.
Eco-tourism could be another good source of income. The MPRC has touris accommodation and people who stay there could learn much about the Namaqualand coast and have an authentic Namaqualand experience, meeting the people on the ground. The town already has a variety of tourism accommodation and these could work together to provide different experiences to tourists and the MPRC could even act as a booking centre and information centre for tourists.
Different environmental and social programs could invest in good, sustainable job creation projects. It is just hard sometimes to understand what the purpose of some of these organisations are, who they are and what they are supposed to do. The Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem is such a program. It is prominent on the DLIST website, but what is it for, who is this organisation and what are they suppose to do? How many people on the coast that uses DLIST knows what this program is about? I certainly am unsure, but feels that it surely must be a program that should be actively and visibly involved in addressing the issues of the coast and providing support. Maybe someone can enlighten me.
There is a long list of possibilities for the Namaqualand coast and there is no doubt that a concerted effort, enough investment and commitment to the process could definitely provide good work with good income for the people of the Namaqualand coast - in fact there is no good reason why it shouldn't happen. It is entire doable. So, the question is: why is it not happening?!! With the government's new focus on a green economy there are few places that could beat the Namaqualand coast as a flagship demonstration site of how a green economy could work and work well.