About 150 members from a community action group gathered outside the Sandton Convention Centre on day one of the second annual Mining Lekgotla, held from August 27 to August 29, to picket for the rights of mining-affected communities in South Africa.

The newly formed Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) called on government to consider the demands and interests of affected communities as it reviewed mining legislation and policy changes, such as the draft Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) Amendment Bill.

It also asked that the Chamber of Mines liaise more with communities.

Further, according to Macua Gauteng spokesperson Toto Nzamo, the organisation met with Mining Lekgotla chairperson Dr Thuthula Balfour-Kaipa two weeks before the start of the conference to formally request that 40 community representatives be allowed entrance to the event – a request that had not been met when Mining Weekly spoke to Nzamo on the first day of the Lekgotla.

In an open letter to Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, who gave the keynote address that day, the community rights group cited the draft framework agreement for sustainable mining, spearheaded by Motlanthe, which states the need for all mining stakeholders in South Africa to “work together to put in place processes that will bring about real changes”.

Macua said that the trend of excluding mining-affected communities from problem-solving dialogues and “attempts to seek a lasting resolution to the conflicts within the mining sector” was ongoing.

“The historical and continued exclusion of communities affected by mining from discussion on economic and social development, which seeks real change, does not advance stability in the sector and reinforces the alienation of communities, which will inevit- ably lead to further conflict in the sector,” stated Macua in the open letter.

The group further claimed that communities have been “systematically excluded” from the adoption of the Mining Charter, in which “only the interests of business, government and labour have been addressed”. This, says Macua, contradicts government’s commitment to transforming the mining sector through economic and social development.

The group argues that a lasting solution to problems inherent in the mining sector cannot be achieved without the full partici- pation of communities affected by mining.