Locating our struggles for environmental justice and protecting our human rights through forcing mining companies to comply with legal guidelines and to work with communities on the issues concerning our livelihoods within the greater struggle for economic freedom, as poor and rural mine affected communities, is a critical call to action for mobilizing and organizing the youth around understanding the importance of having our voices heard through solidifying our collective power as communities as we’re burdened with the responsibility to carry the baton forward towards realizing socio-economic justice in our lifetime and protecting our homes.
Posts tagged as “mining affected communities”
The government's failure to issue permits to small-scale miners, particularly in rural areas such as the chrome rich Sekhukhune has criminalised artisanal miners who mine on a small scale on tribal trust lands.
Our key findings were that environmental issues such as air, land and water pollution which impacts on human and livestock health, soil and water quality were not adequately dealt with by the law , the mines or by the regulator; communities are living in an unsafe environment, relating to blasting close to houses and the tremors experienced as a result of blasting, as well as concern about the rising crime levels within communities.
"On a daily basis, we read about how companies come and dictate their own terms within communities without proper consultation and just get away with it. But for us, it was all about making a difference. When we talk about Ubuntu, we need to be the ones who practice it."
The extractives industry is notorious for its negative impact on the environment and host communities. With investors waiting in the wings to cash in on…