Marikana massacre: Government and partners honour the lost lives

As the Marikana massacre commemorates its tenth anniversary this year, Sibanye-Stillwater, working with the government, continues to pay tribute to those who lost their lives.

The business continues to give to people who were and are still impacted by the awful events of 2012 as compensation.

Since taking over Lonmin’s operations in 2019, Sibanye has actively engaged with a variety of Marikana stakeholders and established the Marikana Renewal Programme, which was introduced by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba in 2020.

The Marikana Renewal Programme aims to support recovery and offer socioeconomic relief to help the local residents survive.

Through required Social and Labour Plans (SLPs) and other corporate social responsibility initiatives, Sibanye-Stillwater aids communities.

In accordance with the SLPs, Sibanye has completed 22 projects in the fields of education, health, and welfare, as well as 13 health projects, six welfare projects, 10 economic development projects, four social infrastructure projects, and four road infrastructure projects.

The patron has visited families in the Eastern Cape and Lesotho as well as important Marikana stakeholders as part of the Letsema Process, which is the centrepiece of the Marikana Renewal Programme.

In July, the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) went to Marikana to look at the projects the company was working on in collaboration with the government and other stakeholders.

Some of the projects include the newly expanded Majakaneng Clinic, the Majakaneng Agricultural Project, and the Leokeng Secondary School’s first phase, which was finished in late 2021.

One of the teachers at the Leokeng Secondary School, Neo Booysen, told SAnews that the community has benefited greatly from the new school because students no longer have to travel great distances to attend other distant schools.

Regarding the difficulties the school faces, Booysen told SAnews that it was challenging when the school first opened due to a lack of instructional materials, basic necessities like toilet paper and markers, and water.

“We want the government to get involved and support us in overcoming the obstacles we face.

They ought to visit frequently to see how the school is doing and to offer assistance as needed.

We require supplies and tools. Sibanye did a good job of building the school, but everyone needs to come to the celebration and help with providing teaching and learning materials, the speaker said.

The Majakaneng Clinic’s restorations put an end to the days of subpar service delivery caused by outdated facilities and equipment for both the staff and regular patients.

There were only two multipurpose rooms at the clinic when it first opened in the early 1990s.

In the past, patients frequently had to travel great distances to find medical care since they had to wait a long time to be helped.

The clinic, which serves the Majakaneng community, was restored in 2020 thanks to a R9.3 million investment from Sibanye-Stillwater.

Malebo Mototoba, a professional nurse at Majakaneng clinic, told SAnews that the facility is now larger than it formerly was and has improved the community.

By expanding the facility, Sibanye has aided us. Because it was too small, there was congestion.

The wellness clinic has a lot of space and we now have more consulting rooms.

This makes me glad because we can now handle roughly 400 people a day and work in a comfortable setting, she said.

Monument Park
Due to the COVID-19 lockdown rules that were implemented in the nation on March 27, 2020, some projects did not get finished in time for the 2020 implementation plan.

Upgrading the roads in Wonderkop and Nkaneng, as well as creating a memorial site at the koppie where the 44 miners perished, are some of the projects that are currently in the works.

The Marikana Renewal Program hosted its first pitso, a customary Sotho gathering, in May, which highlighted the significance of remembering the victims’ lives.

Tshepo Kgasago, Head of Community Engagement and Development for PMG Region South Africa, said the Pitso was attended by 94 family members of the deceased in an interview with SAnews on the spot where the violence broke out ten years ago.

He claimed that the families were working together to forge a path toward building a memorial park.

The memorial park, which is still in the conceptual stages, will be located between the two koppies where the majority of the fatalities occurred on August 16, 2012, according to Kgasago.

On the memorial site, we have been interacting with the widows. We won’t be able to build the project on our own without the assistance of everyone else. We are working on the memorial site concept right now,” he stated.

The families have asked for the formation of a task committee so they can participate in the planning of the memorial park.

“We were able to gather the 44 families in response to the request, and they chose nine representatives to make up the task team. The involvement of the families is ongoing, he said.

23 widows and 21 family members accepted job offers from Lonmin in 2014, the majority of whom Sibanye-Stillwater is still employing today.

Sibanye is still providing counselling for closure to the widows and their beneficiaries.

“Sibanye-Stillwater also provides the widows with legal assistance. We are helping widows and families who have not yet received compensation from the State to contact the appropriate officials in order to request compensation, according to Kgasago.

In addition, Sibanye is still a supporter of the 1608 Memorial Trust, which was established in September 2012 by Lonmin and its partner Phembani Group (previously Shanduka Resources) to help pay for the dependent children of the deceased employees’ educational expenses.

There are currently 139 recipients receiving assistance from the Trust, who come from all around South Africa as well as Lesotho and Swaziland. Their ages range from nine to 41.

The fund has funded the education of 14 tertiary graduates as well as three postgraduate students, one of whom just received a PhD.

“We continue to support the dependents through the 1608 Memorial Trust by providing educational assistance in the form of schooling and registration fees; stationery, textbooks, and uniforms; tertiary tuition fees; transportation and meal allowances; as well as extramural activities like sports and school excursions for educational purposes,” Kgasago said.

For the 16 widows who did not receive homes from the AMCU Trust, Sibanye has previously pledged to building houses.

Riaan Barnard, Sibanye’s Programme Manager for Housing, reported that eight houses had been completed and eight more are being built at widow-selected areas.

The locations include the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape (Kimberley), the North West Province (Mahikeng), and Lesotho.

the standard of living in Marikana

Speaking of housing in the Marikana region, Barnard noted that the government’s partnership in providing additional homes has begun and has advanced.

According to Barnard, Lonmin first gave the Rustenburg Local Municipality 50 hectares of serviced land, known as Marikana Extension 2, worth R80 million at the time of the donation.

“This made it possible for the government to build 2 658 housing units for its workers and residents. 544 dwellings, including 292 for employees and 252 for neighbourhood residents, were finished in Phase 1 of the project, he said.

Lonmin and the Housing Development Agency (HDA) joined forces in 2019 to develop specific housing programmes in Marikana and the adjacent districts in complete coordination with the regional municipalities and the province.

helping to promote economic growth

In total, Sibanye-operations Stillwater’s in South Africa and the United States employ 84 981 people, including contractors. The Marikana business employs 24 444 of these workers and contractors.

According to Kgasago, the Marikana K4 project’s R3.9 billion capital expenditure will provide jobs for the next 50 years.

Since July 2021, the Marikana K4 project and other operating requirements have created roughly 1 563 work opportunities for locals, either directly or indirectly.

This year, several SLP projects have been approved.

These include the second phase of building at Leokeng Secondary School and the Marikana Community Health Center at Western Platinum (WPL) (CHC).

According to Sibanye, more funding will be provided for the construction of the Marikana high mast lights, for agricultural businesses, for the implementation of storm water management, for the renovation of road infrastructure, and for small-scale sheep farmers.

Shearing sheds, the new Sonop Secondary School, the installation of high mast lights in six wards, an update to the sewage systems at Bapong and Wonderkop CHC, and an upgrade to Rhode School are among the projects being undertaken by Eastern Platinum (EPL).