Johannesburg - The South African Human Rights Commission is keeping a close eye on the government's handling of the Jagersfontein disaster.
The organisation this week indicated to ActionSA in a letter that it was monitoring the state's intervention plans to ensure the livelihoods of Jagersfontein residents were restored.
The commission said this was to ensure that the restoration happened fully. This comes after the commission earlier this month announced it would investigate the Jagersfontein diamond mine for the collapse of the dam that wreaked havoc in the area.
The disaster at the Jagersfontein Development tailings dam killed at least four people. The incident also resulted in 51 houses in Charlesville and 113 houses in Itumeleng being swept away by the sludge released by the collapsed dam on Sunday, September 11.
More than 186 people were taken to the Sandstone Estate in Bloemfontein, 53 to the President Hotel in Bloemfontein, and 17 to a guest house in Fauresmith.
Following the tragedy, Free State Premier Sesi Ntombela announced that four contractors had begun construction on four model houses through alternative building technology. The four houses would serve as show houses and the affected families would be expected to choose their preferred plan before more are built.
The project, which started in September, is expected to be completed before the end of December this year.
The commission’s Free State provincial manager Thabang Kheswa said monitoring the observance of human rights was one of the constitutional mandates of the commission. He said the ultimate goal was to ensure that the livelihoods of the people of Jagersfontein were restored to how they were before the disaster.
“Government has committed itself to ensure that they are assisted. This is what we will monitor and ensure that it happens fully,” said Kheswa.
The commission’s announcement came after ActionSA in the Free State requested that the commission launch an investigation into the human rights violations by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, Jagersfontein Development Mine, and Kopanong Municipality.
Over 103 people had been displaced from their homes owing to the flooding and had not yet been provided with alternative accommodation, the party’s Free State chairperson, Patricia Kopane, said.
She added that residents at Charlesville had been left to inhale polluted air and use contaminated water to the detriment of their health, and the municipality had done nothing to assist in this regard.
“Additionally, the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation has reportedly warned about the dam operating at twice the capacity it was authorised to. Mining experts in the affected communities have long reported flagrant disregard for environmental laws by the mining corporations operating on their land and in their communities,” she said.
Kopane said this had violated the following pieces of national legislation and regulations:
· the National Environmental Management Act;
· the National Water Act regulations;
· the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 29 of 2007 (Department of Minerals and Energy);
· the Water Services Act 108 0f 1997 (Department of Water and Sanitation); and
· the Mine Health and Safety Act 28 of 1996.
Ntombela's spokesperson, Palesa Chubisi, did not give a reaction to the SA Human Rights Commission’s announcement. Instead, she shared a statement from the premier’s meeting with the representatives of the Jagersfontein Development Mine. The meeting was held at OR Tambo House in Bloemfontein.
Ntomebela told the representatives the mine had pledged to continue lending a hand to those affected by the tragedy. She indicated that a task team comprising all stakeholders – including the local and provincial government, residents, and the mine itself – would be established to address outstanding issues and also fast-track the rebuilding area.
Ntombela added that the government remained committed to ensuring that residents whose homes had been washed away by the mudslide, and who were currently being accommodated temporarily in Jagersfontein and Fauresmith, were speedily returned to their homes.
Phosa Loots Incorporated also announced last month that it had been appointed to represent the affected families and file a lawsuit against the mine.
The law firm said it had been instructed by the Kopanong Municipality to assist it in making sure it could claim compensation for the damage to its infrastructure, including its sewage, water reticulation, electricity infrastructure, and communications systems.
The attorneys said the municipality had also instructed them to speak to the individual family members who had suffered because of the mine dam’s collapse.
The law firm is expected to release the report soon.