Just three days ago, ActionSA and various other political, religious, and community formations joined the Nkambule, Mnisi, and Nyirenda families to commemorate the 9h anniversary of the Lily Mone tragedy. Also present was a representative of the local Chief, HRH Prince TS Dlamini, who passionately related the prince’s frustration over lack of progress in the retrieval of the container so that the bereaved families can finally start the journey towards closure. He also described the misleading duplicity by politicians and mine owners, as well as their lack of will to do what is right.
As ActionSA, we’re baffled, disappointed, and angered by the statement recently released by Vantage Goldfields in which it announces to have “approved the implementation of a number of tailings and rehabilitation projects which will provide much needed jobs for the local community.”
Not a single word is said in the statement about the container that went down nine years ago in an implosion that could have been avoided, had all the warnings been taken seriously to improve safety measures on the mine. Not-A-Word! This is despite the known fact that three families of Pretty Nkambule, Yvonne Mnisi, and Solomon Nyirenda, who went down with the container, continue to camp less than 2km outside the gates to the mine, waiting for someone to finally show humanity and commit with action to retrieve the container.
The Vantage Goldfield’s statement is even baffling because these people, together with their foreign investor, know very well that several courts, including the Constitutional Court – which is South Africa’s “Court of Last Instance” – have declared in several rulings that there should be prosecutions of people who have been found liable for negligence in this matter, and that there should be no reason for the case to be brought back into the court system.
Again, without a word about the retrieval of the container with the remains of the Lily Mone 3, Vantage Goldfields’ statement goes on to announce that “the funder is sending a team of experts to South Africa in the next 10 days to complete implementation arrangements. The team… will meet the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, as well as the Business Rescue Practitioner (to make final arrangements to mobilise funds and pay the creditors.” Again, not a word about the Lily Mine 3.
None of this also says anything about ActionSA’s latest application for access to the mine grounds so that it can appoint a qualified mine rescue company of its choice to retrieve the container. All correspondence in this regard has been ignored, leaving ActionSA with no option but to turn to the courts for this access.
“I have said it several times and I repeat here, says ActionSA President Herman Mashaba, “that for as long as I live, I will not rest until the mine owners and authorities do what is right for the families of the Lily Mine 3. It cannot be right that the whole country remains silent in the face of such human rights neglect and failure by the NPA to bring charges, as ordered by the courts, against the parties whose negligence led to this tragedy.”
Shocked by the Insensitive Vantage Goldfields Statement
Just three days ago, ActionSA and various other political, religious, and community formations joined the Nkambule, Mnisi, and Nyirenda families to commemorate the 9h anniversary of the Lily Mone tragedy. Also present was a representative of the local Chief, HRH Prince TS Dlamini, who passionately related the prince’s frustration over lack of progress in the retrieval of the container so that the bereaved families can finally start the journey towards closure. He also described the misleading duplicity by politicians and mine owners, as well as their lack of will to do what is right.
As ActionSA, we’re baffled, disappointed, and angered by the statement recently released by Vantage Goldfields in which it announces to have “approved the implementation of a number of tailings and rehabilitation projects which will provide much needed jobs for the local community.”
Not a single word is said in the statement about the container that went down nine years ago in an implosion that could have been avoided, had all the warnings been taken seriously to improve safety measures on the mine. Not-A-Word! This is despite the known fact that three families of Pretty Nkambule, Yvonne Mnisi, and Solomon Nyirenda, who went down with the container, continue to camp less than 2km outside the gates to the mine, waiting for someone to finally show humanity and commit with action to retrieve the container.
The Vantage Goldfield’s statement is even baffling because these people, together with their foreign investor, know very well that several courts, including the Constitutional Court – which is South Africa’s “Court of Last Instance” – have declared in several rulings that there should be prosecutions of people who have been found liable for negligence in this matter, and that there should be no reason for the case to be brought back into the court system.
Again, without a word about the retrieval of the container with the remains of the Lily Mone 3, Vantage Goldfields’ statement goes on to announce that “the funder is sending a team of experts to South Africa in the next 10 days to complete implementation arrangements. The team… will meet the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, as well as the Business Rescue Practitioner (to make final arrangements to mobilise funds and pay the creditors.” Again, not a word about the Lily Mine 3.
None of this also says anything about ActionSA’s latest application for access to the mine grounds so that it can appoint a qualified mine rescue company of its choice to retrieve the container. All correspondence in this regard has been ignored, leaving ActionSA with no option but to turn to the courts for this access.
“I have said it several times and I repeat here, says ActionSA President Herman Mashaba, “that for as long as I live, I will not rest until the mine owners and authorities do what is right for the families of the Lily Mine 3. It cannot be right that the whole country remains silent in the face of such human rights neglect and failure by the NPA to bring charges, as ordered by the courts, against the parties whose negligence led to this tragedy.”