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British Company Urged to Improve Appalling Conditions in SA Mining Town

As thousands gathered near Rustenburg yesterday to commemorate the Marikana massacre of four years ago, reports were published showing that the same conditions that led to the tragedy still persist today; and Amnesty International called on British Lonmin mining company – which is listed on the London Stock Exchange – to put its house in order. On […]

17-08-16 14:45

As thousands gathered near Rustenburg yesterday to commemorate the Marikana massacre of four years ago, reports were published showing that the same conditions that led to the tragedy still persist today; and Amnesty International called on British Lonmin mining company – which is listed on the London Stock Exchange – to put its house in order.

On 16 August 2012 police shot dead 34 miners while trying to disperse strikers. Ten people – including two security guards from Lonmin mining company and two policemen – were killed the week before.

Conditions are apparently still as bad today as they were then.

According to Amnesty International, Lonmin has done very little to improve the living conditions of the miners. Of the 20,000 Lonmin miners, over half live in informal accommodation.

Yesterday Medicins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) also announced that a study has found that one in four women in Rustenburg, North West, has reported being raped.

Speaking at the Commemoration, the EFF’s Julius Malema promised Rustenburg’s residents that the ANC will never govern there again. Malema said Jesus had landed not only in Port Elizabeth, but Rustenburg too, and that the EFF is eating the “elephant ANC piece by piece”. The DA’s Mmusi Maimane was also present.

To coincide with the Commemoration, Al Jazeera’s AJ+ broadcast this report about the “truly appalling” conditions that still exist in the South African mining town:

Watch Lonmin CEO defend the company’s effort since the killings:

Amnest Internation – Lonmin: Put Your House in Order

https://youtu.be/_9oADiFCwIU

Watch Miners Shot Down documentary

https://youtu.be/ssPrxvgePsc

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