By Everson Luhanga
The communities of Middelburg, Hendrina, and eMalahleni in Mpumalanga gathered at Melrose Arch in Sandton on Friday to protest against “corrupt” companies and officials.
Calling themselves the Mpumalanga Action Movement, dozens of protesters marched to the headquarters of Glencore in Melrose Arch and Seriti in Illovo – global commodities trading companies they have slammed as corrupt.
The leader of the protest, Hophney Moramaga, said the closure of Optimum Coal has brought a lot of poverty, pain and strife to these communities who for decades have relied on this bastion of coal mining to sustain livelihoods and the entire downstream economy linked to Africa’s largest coal mining operation.
“As coal-mining host communities we are fed up with the corruption of Glencore and its mafia counterparts Thungela and Seriti,” he said.
Moramaga said that community members were happy at the news last month that Optimum would open once again on 8 March.
“But we have witnessed how the corruption of Glencore, as the leader of the coal mafia, and its collusion has prevented the reopening of Optimum Coal,” he said.
Moramaga said Glencore, acting with Thungela and Seriti, colluded in December 2022 to suspend Optimum Coal’s rail allocation and port entitlement at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal to share the profits they make from exploiting Optimum’s export entitlement at the Optimum Coal Terminal.
“The judgment of the North Gauteng High Court on 2 February this year settled the matter of Optimum Coal Mine and Optimum Coal Terminal,” Moramaga said. “For them to exit the business rescue process through the sale of Optimum to Liberty Coal, the coal mafia has to give back the port terminal which belongs to Optimum.”
Pictured above: Mpumalanga residents protest against mining companies.
Image source: Supplied
