Johannesburg - South Africa’s government threatened to remove Lonmin’s
mining license for its failure to build houses for its workers quickly enough,
four years after employees were killed in a massacre near its Marikana mine.
Lonmin agreed to improve accommodation after the tragedy
yet progress has been “slow,” the office of South African President Jacob Zuma
said in e-mailed statement on Sunday. The government will consider taking
tougher action to make sure the world’s third-largest platinum miner fulfils
its commitments.
“A compliant housing plan will be requested from Lonmin,
failing which immediate action in the form of suspension or cancellation of the
mining right will be taken,” the presidency said. “Audit inspections many be
conducted at the mine, on a bimonthly basis to ensure compliance, and
administrative action taken where necessary.”
Improving workers’ living conditions was a key
recommendation of the Farlam Commission, set up to investigate the deaths of at
least 44 people who were killed, mostly by police, during protests near
Marikana in 2012. The government is willing to pay compensation to the victims’
families, the presidency said.
Read also: After #Marikana, mining problems persist
While Lonmin has converted all its hostels into 2 700
family units and apartments, this was a condition of its social and labor plan,
agreed in the mid-2000s. The company only recently completed a housing project
of 325 units, which are not yet occupied. Another phase of the project is due
to be completed at the end of next year. The company employed 35 669 people at September
30, 2015.
“Progress is slow, compelling the department to
contemplate sterner measures,” the presidency said.
Lonmin has noted the statement and is working with all
levels of government to find “a lasting solution that will facilitate the
development of different living conditions,” Abey Kgotle, the company’s
executive vice president of human resources, said by phone.
The company will submit a housing plan that “meets the
requirements” and is considering handing over land to government to build
houses, he said.
BLOOMBERG