Contradict between Aquarius Platinum and Mining Communities
Their combined fight for justice, equality and human rights paid off when Mandela was released and through the efforts of Desmond Tutu, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission´s objective was to heal the wounds of the past and prepare for a sustainable future with a clear conscious and clean slate.Stuart Murray shows double standards when it comes to recognizing indigenous communities.
The Restitution of Land Rights Act (RLR) of 1994 came into being at around the same time that Nelson Mandela became the Father of the Nation after a long-awaited struggle by all South Africans who did not approve of the apartheid regime.
The (RLR) gave dispossessed indigenous communities an opportunity to reclaim their land taken by the previous government and thereby be restituted to the rightful owner. The cut- off date for such process in terms of the ( RLR) was 31st December 1998. The problem which has become evident after fourteen years of waiting was that this cut-off time applied only to submissions and that Government had no time constraint imposed on it to report back on its findings and recommendations.
At the time a peaceful community situated in the Groot Dwars River Valley called the Ba CHOMA had applied within the prescribed timeframe for the return of the seven properties called the Pakaneng Lands. The boundaries of Pakaneng were pointed out by the longest surviving member and head of the Choma clan, octogenarian, Mokomotwane Simon Choma.
He did so by the only method he knew and that was by using the mountains and rivers as landmarks which dominate this prolific landscape. He proudly directed his knowledge to the officials of the REGIONAL LAND CLAIMS COMMISSION (RLCC) proclaiming the ancestral names of each farm known only to insiders of the clan.
As a humble and patient man, who had waited seventy years for this day, he was overwhelmed by the occasion of reclaiming his ancestral lands, not having been formally schooled in western tradition. Little did he know that where his ancestors had put down roots was on one of the richest areas in the world where Platinum Group Metals occur, known today as the Bushveld Igneous Complex and that he would end up competing with Government and big business for the return of his ancestral land.
When we became involved in this battle just over a year ago, he had already been waiting patiently for a further fourteen years and nothing had been resolved or transferred to him and his community. As we delved further into the story, we discovered that matters pertaining to his claim where being manipulated behind his back and the likelyhood of the return of the Pakaneng Lands was fading fast despite reassurances.
Early on in process, a little known government official was blazing a trail for himself as a dealmaker in Platinum interests. Mr. Kwape Mmela employed by the RLCC between 1997 and 2002 and who was instrumental in the highly publicized land expropriation case in 2001 involving white landowners and the Dikwanya Community who had lost their lands and had been forcibly removed through various Apartheid Laws.Henan Hongxing Mining Machinery Co., Ltd is the professional manufacturer of complete sets of mining machinery, for example,mobile crushing station,ore processing plant Welcome all of you to visit our official website.china mobile crusher:http://www.china-mills.com/p7.html
At this time a progressive and proactive Australian mining company called Aquarius Platinum,so it seemed, was organising a restitution settlement with the Bakone Ba Pethla community in advance of commencing mining operations.
A quote from Everest Mine Site in 2003.
“Some of the surface rights within the project area are being transferred to the local Phetla community – the land’s historical owners – under a settlement reached with the land restitution authorities (RLCC). In terms of this agreement, the land required for mining will be leased back to AQP(SA).”
In theory the above statement (the Aquarius Model and Strategy) seems to have encapsulated the objectives of the land restitution law and historically displaced community.
While these developments were happening down the road, the CHOMA community had already passed through the initial claim stages and had been gazetted as the claimant for another project owned by Aquarius Platinum called Everest North on the Vygenhoek 10JT Farm several kilometers to the North.
Everest North sits above a Platinum deposit straddled by two farms – Vygenhoek and Mareesburg 8 JT which farms are part of the Pakaneng lands.
It seems inconsistent that Mr Mmela who was credited with the high-profile restitution of the land back to the Dikwanya Community, did not follow on with the same vigour for the CHOMA community by speeding up their restitution of the Vygenhoek property so that they too could be recognised and become the beneficiary of another lease back agreement with Aquarius, thereby giving the community an economic boost and sustainable future.
Quite the contrary. In and around 2005/2006 Aquarius commissioned the services of an archaeologist to compile a historical survey on the area surrounding and including the Vygenhoek Farm. See attached MAP. Dr.JCC Pistorius concluded the study verifying that the CHOMA communities ancestral roots were directly in the area pointed out by the elder Mr.MS Choma (i.e confirming the old man´s borders of mountains and rivers approach.) Yet the study remained a closely kept secret between Aquarius Platinum and their environmental consultants Metago and later Digby Wells and Associates and was withheld from the 80-year-old man and the Ba Choma Community.
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