Johannesburg Transport MMC Kenny Kunene has called for military intervention to combat illegal mining in Johannesburg, saying zama zamas were responsible for widespread damage to roads, businesses and municipal infrastructure across the city.

Kunene made the remarks on Monday during an oversight visit to several infrastructure sites in Region C and F, including Roodepoort, Witpoortjie and Selby, where roads have collapsed and sinkholes have formed due to illegal underground mining activities.

The oversight visit included officials from the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD), the South African Police Service and private security personnel.

Addressing the media at one of the affected roads in Roodepoort, Kunene said illegal miners had effectively made some areas inaccessible to municipal workers.

“JRA can’t fix this road because of the zama-zamas. When JRA comes here to work, zama-zamas start shooting,” Kunene said.

He said illegal miners were operating underground in former mining areas and were removing support pillars left behind by mining companies, causing roads and land to collapse.

“That is how we get sinkholes in the city of Johannesburg,” he said.

Kunene said businesses had been forced to shut down because of illegal mining activity, while residents were living with damaged infrastructure, sewage spills and unsafe roads.

During the site inspection, officials showed members of the media several holes allegedly used by illegal miners to access underground tunnels. Electrical cables believed to be powering illegal mining operations were also pointed out.

At one point during the oversight, Kunene warned people to be cautious near one of the holes, saying illegal miners could open fire from underground tunnels.

“You walk towards their direction, they shoot,” he said.

Kunene said the city now wanted the South African National Defence Force to work alongside police and JMPD officers to combat illegal mining operations.

“The army must also deal with zama-zamas because zama-zamas are part of a gang,” he said.

He said that municipalities were being left to deal with the consequences of mining activities without adequate support from national government.

Kunene accused the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy of failing to rehabilitate old mining areas despite mining companies paying rehabilitation funds.

“Mining companies pay rehabilitation funds so that when they are done mining government can rehabilitate these areas,” he said.

“There’s not one mine in South Africa that has been rehabilitated by the Department of Minerals.”

At Witpoortjie Estate, officials inspected a large sinkhole that destroyed part of a road leading into a residential complex. Residents told officials the damaged road had affected access control and security in the estate.

Kunene said illegal miners had dug beneath the road and removed underground support structures, causing the collapse.

“These illegal foreigners are not just destroying our infrastructure,” he said.

At another stop in Roodepoort CBD, Kunene visited a butchery where illegal miners allegedly dug underground tunnels into the business premises.

During the visit, Kunene confronted a manager at the business over allegations that fat and waste were being dumped into stormwater drains.

“We are going to shut down this operation,” he warned, instructing officials to issue fines and demanding that the drains be cleaned.

Kunene also acknowledged the scale of Johannesburg’s broader infrastructure problems, saying the city needed around R100 billion to rehabilitate roads, bridges and stormwater systems.

“We need to reconstruct the whole road, start it afresh, use new technology so that we have 25 years of no potholes,” he said.

The MMC said the city would continue engaging law enforcement agencies and national government departments as it attempts to address illegal mining and repair damaged infrastructure across Johannesburg.

INSIDE METROS

The post Kunene calls for army intervention during oversight of illegal mining damage in Joburg appeared first on Inside Metros.