Photo by: Reuters
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng on Monday expressed its concern about illegal gold mining activity allegedly taking place along the busy M2 highway in Johannesburg.
This followed a report in The Times on Monday that illegal gold miners and vandals were threatening the safety of motorists using one of Gauteng’s busiest highways between Denver and Jeppe, near the Johannesburg city centre, while digging for gold just metres from the road.
The metro police was reported to have said that there had been instances of motorists whose cars had broken down being attacked along that stretch of highway.
There were also fears that the illegal miners would dig under the M2 and cause structural damage to the road.
DA Gauteng caucus leader, Jack Bloom, said that he was he was concerned at the report that illegal gold mining was threatening the safety of motorists using the M2 highway.
“This is a serious situation that needs a co-ordinated response by the police and city agencies. The experience in Cape Town has shown that a specialist unit is most effective in tackling this type of problem which includes stopping the theft of materials to be sold as scrap,” Bloom said.
It was also reported that at one illegal mining site near Cleveland Road, the miners were digging where contractors were laying cables for the intelligent freeway monitoring system.
The Johannesburg Roads Agency said that a security guard had been shot dead and there were incidents of violence in which workers had been robbed of equipment and assaulted.