Government in process of drafting legislation to legalize artisanal mining, says Ntshavheni
Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the government is in the process of drafting legislation to legalize artisanal or small-scale mining.
She was speaking at a media briefing led by the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster in Pretoria on Friday where several ministries gave updates on progress made in the government’s battle against illegal mining.
Ntshavheni said there are plans to allocate licensed artisanal miners across the country’s 6,000 abandoned and inoperative mines.
“They [Department of Mineral Resources and Energy] are finalizing a process of then registering those who want to conduct artisanal mining, which will then remove the illegal miners from going back and occupying those ownerless mines. Those ownerless mines, we cannot trace their owners because some of them were abandoned a long time ago,” said Ntshavheni.
Meanwhile, Police Minister Bheki Cele assured South Africans that the government is not only targeting zama zamas, but illegal mining kingpins are also being hunted down.
Cele said the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster has seized millions of rands in assets belonging to kingpins convicted on illegal mining charges.
“There’s been this issue of arresting foot soldiers. So it’s not just about chasing those ones but we’re moving a little bit up to deal with those that are the brains behind this. There are nine up to this far,” said Cele.
-EWN
In other news – Watch: Mihlali Ndamase’s BBL disappoints Mzansi
Popular South African YouTuber, content creator, social media influencer & makeup artist, entrepreneur, and brand ambassador, Mihlali Ndamase gets mocked again by social media users because of her body.
The star is yet to get a break from Twitter critics and trolls over the past weeks. Recently, her fake life was exposed by the famous South African public speaker, Vusi Thembekwayo. On Friday, the influencer trends again after sharing a video of herself working out. Read More
