While the Marikana Renewal Programme has made some progress in addressing the impacts of the Marikana massacre, there is still more work to be done, with some issues outstanding, families still awaiting full closure and accountability being an ongoing process.

This was indicated by speakers during the sixth yearly Marikana Commemoration lecture, hosted by JSE- and NYSE-listed Sibanye-Stillwater, which acquired Lonmin and its Marikana operations in June 2019.

The company has convened these lectures since 2020 to serve as a forum within the renewal programme, which is anchored on the pillars of ‘honour, engage and create’.

It has been 13 years since the South African Police Services (SAPS) shot and killed 34 striking miners at the then Lonmin-owned Marikana platinum mine, near Rustenburg.  

Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman acknowledged on August 22 that there would not be complete closure for the families of the killed workers until justice is served, and emphasised the need for this to continue, and the company’s commitment to supporting this process. 

This would be Froneman’s final address at the forum, as he is set to retire next month.

Advocate Geoff Budlender, who served as the senior evidence leader at the Marikana Commission of Inquiry, outlined some of the unfinished matters.

He said the commission, owing to time constraints, was unable to properly investigate the underlying causes of the tragedy, particularly the extreme anger and alienation of rock drill operators.

“What shocked me most was not only the killings themselves, but the level of alienation. These were people who felt so disregarded that they saw themselves effectively at war with their employer and with the police,” Budlender commented.

He warned that such conditions must serve as a wake-up call for all mining companies: “If you have people living on your property and working for you, and they are in that state of hostility, it should give you grave cause for reflection. Unless there are avenues for anger and frustration to be heard and addressed, violence becomes the language of last resort.”

“It is only if we address these matters that our mining industry will be able to thrive, to the lasting benefit of those who work on the mines, those who own them, and our country.”

Moreover, he pointed out that the enquiry into the massacre revealed a “sickness” in the SAPS, one that goes to the highest level.

“Now, evidence has emerged of what looks like further very serious sickness in the SAPS. Justice Madlanga, who was initially the senior evidence leader in the Marikana Commission, is now heading a Commission of Inquiry into the truth of the serious allegations and counter-allegations that are flying around, and into disputes and failings in the SAPS. The Marikana experience demonstrates how difficult it is to establish the full truth when people at the highest levels attempt to conceal it. We must all hope that he will be successful in his task,” Budlender emphasised.

He also indicated the need to recognise that people who occupy or use land, including land that is held communally, have rights that are protected under the Constitution.

Budlender explained that the Bapo ba Mogale community are the historic owners of the land on which platinum-bearing farms in the North West near Rustenburg, including Marikana, are situated, and that the agreement Lonmin struck up with traditional council for this has several issues, and seemed to have excluded large numbers of the community, who were left dissatisfied.

“I hope that the present owners of the mine are aware of the limitations of the deeply contested process that was undertaken by Lonmin. I do not make a judgment about the rights and wrongs of the traditional council and the deal that was made – what I point out is that there was dispute, and that as a result of how the matter was dealt with, it would be surprising if the dissatisfactions do not continue,” he averred.

Froneman told Mining Weekly in a media session that company is continuing to “work with what it has inherited” in terms of these legal and binging agreements, but that it would not ignore the issues the advocate had raised and would continue to engage with the community and do so more broadly. He said that by and large, the community has not shown disgruntlement in terms of representation and ownership.

Sibanye-Stillwater CEO designate Richard Stewart added that more work needed to be undertaken in terms of how funds flow and are used in the community, including the management of trusts.

Judge Ian Farlam, who chaired the Marikana Commission of Inquiry, noted that some questions remain unanswered to this day.

One of these is why the police, who were found to have acted “totally inappropriately”, chose to persist with carrying out their predetermined action plan against the striking workers at a certain time, despite it being apparent that this would result in bloodshed, and did not elect to delay this.

EFFORTS
“We faced the legacy of the tragedy head-on. We honoured promises made to the widows and their families, supported their children through education, and co-created new opportunities for renewal and transformation,” Froneman said.

He pointed out that, to date, R77.4-million has been invested to support the educational journey of the dependants of the deceased, from early childhood to postgraduate level, with 157 beneficiaries supported. Of these beneficiaries, 16 have graduated with degrees and three have obtained post- graduate qualifications.

He also informed that the commitment to the ‘honour’ pillar remains, with progress being made on a memorial that is planned for the Koppie (Wonderkop) in Nkaneng.

“It has taken time – more than I would have liked — but this is not something we drive on our own. It’s a collaborative effort that we are all a part of and what we leave behind must have real meaning for those who were most closely affected,” Froneman explained.

He said the company has now reached a collective agreement with the government, the Bapo Ba Mogale, families, AMCU and some of the landowners to create a memorial. 

The process to declare Wonderkop a Heritage site has started and architectural drawings are being finalised.

Also, work in the ‘engage’ pillar has engendered opportunities, with Froneman highlighting that over 100 young people now serve as community safety coordinators, and students from the Educational Trust have graduated and some are now employed by the company.

Moreover, the Marikana Agri-hub, a partnership with the Mineworkers’ Development Agency, offers skills and small business development services, a commercial egg- laying facility, an internet café, a packing shed, an enterprise incubator and an agricultural training centre, he added.

The company is also investing with the Development Bank of Southern Africa to build the Amandla Marikana D-lab precinct, which would include a football academy and youth sports infrastructure, an early childhood development centre and a digital learning hub; and is building schools in partnership with the Bapo ba Magale community.