Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said government was not going to sending any help to criminals but instead they are going to smoke them out.
Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni . File Picture: Itumeleng English / Independent NewspapersThe National Union of Mineworkers has criticized utterances made by Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni who told reporters that government will not attempt to rescue illegal miners stranded underground in Stilfontein in the North West – but instead, government would “smoke them out”.“We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out. They will come out.
The remarks have sparked a whirlwind of reactions, with some supporting the minister’s strong stance while others lambasted Ntshavheni, saying her words lack empathy to the families who have gathered to seek help for their miners. Manke said for a very long time, people in South Africa have mined manually, before mining was highly regulated as it is now.
In recent days, community members have been gathering, waving placards reading “Black Lives Matter” and “Free Our Brothers”, calling on government to intervene and rescue the stranded miners, colloquially referred to as zama zamas. A community leader Johannes Qankase said community members would be sending a rope down to try and bring the sick miners up.
He insisted that police should have given the miners ample notice to vacate before the shafts were sealed.
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