ANALYSIS
On a day when South Africa’s biggest gold mine, Anglo Gold Ashanti, announced that it was considering retrenching some 8,500 workers, miners from North West province marched on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) to demand an end to retrenchments and a fairer share of the economic wealth being extracted by the mining companies operating in the area. By IHSAAN HAFFEJEE.
Sello Seemela estimates that the last time he held formal employment was over 10 year ago. The 40-year-old father of three resides in the town of Bapong in North West. On Wednesday he joined hundreds of fellow miners from mining communities situated along the province’s platinum belt as they embarked on a protest march to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) where they demanded an end to retrenchments.
“These mining companies make promises saying they will employ locals to work in the mines but what we find is that they are bringing in people from far away and the locals are suffering,” said Seemela. “The mining companies are getting rich off the land on which we live but we have nothing. Not even jobs. There is so much unemployment. That is why people could come to this march today – because…