Rustenburg - Residents of Kanana near Rustenburg marched to Impala Platinum Mine’s 16 shaft on Thursday, demanding that the mine deal directly with them about issues affecting them.
Community leader Thulani Maboa said their demands had remained the same over the years because nothing had change.
“Impala must engage with leaders that we as mining communities have elected to represent our interest. The continual refusal of Impala to engaged with our elected leaders is an indication of arrogance in cooperation with Kanana community,” he said.
In a memorandum submitted to Impala, residents wanted the mine to hire residents from Kanana directly and to make it a priority.
“The mine must stop using matric as an entry level for people of Kanana while it employed people from Lesotha and Mozambique without matric,” he said.
They also complained that the influx of mineworkers in the area had forced them to share with mineworkers’ health services which was not enough for all of them.
The mine was given seven days to respond to issues raised in the memorandum. The march ended without incident.
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