Water issue evokes anger

MACEKANE residents on Monday again protested at not having running water – this for more than 20 years.
Frustrated by the reported failure of mining company Tronox to deliver on its promise of supplying water to communities affected by its operations, protesters gathered at the company’s central processing complex at Empangeni early on Monday morning.
The mine entrance was blocked, traffic flow on the adjoining R34 disrupted and Tronox employees were prevented from accessing or leaving the site.
A private security company reported witnessing active protesters from as early as 2am, pulling motorists from their vehicles and forcing a truck driver to offload sand on the road.
However, no serious injuries were reported.
With the support of the organisation Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macau), a memorandum with the community’s concerns and demands was handed over by protest leaders to Tronox management by 11am.
Apart from requesting assistance to obtain running water, the memorandum also called for a social labour plan to be put in place and local residents be trained and given jobs ahead of outsiders.
It also requested that the company deal directly with community members and not with the traditional council.
The community has twice staged similar protests in the past year, but no permanent solutions to their concerns have been reached.
The scene was cleared and employees resumed work at around 10am.
Tronox officials released a statement late on Monday afternoon stating that, ‘Tronox is committed to the safety of our employees and all our stakeholders’ and ‘…will continue our engagement with the relevant stakeholders and local authorities to address and resolve concerns’.