Your Excellency, Deputy President Motlanthe
Minister Motsoaledi
Premier Mokonyane
President of Cosatu, Sdumo Dlamini
President of NUM, Senzeni Zokwana
Dr Xolani Mkhwanazi, President of the Chamber of Mines
Mr Nick Holland, CEO of Gold Fields
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I shall begin on a very sad note. The last time the then Minister of Minerals and Energy touched down on the grounds of a Gold Fields mine was during the May Day tragedy in 2008 when nine contract workers died.
A cable cage they were in snapped and they fell 58 metres down a shaft. This incident was rightly condemned by labour at the time for these workers had laboured on a day when they should not have been at work. It was Workers’ Day, and they should have taken the day off.
The atmosphere was further poisoned by the fact that this disaster followed the death of another four workers in an underground accident at Gold Fields’ Driefontein mine and another had died after a rock fall at South Deep mine.
You can imagine the situation. Trade unions were on the warpath and the families were mourning the loss of their loved ones. It is not an exaggeration, I am told, that insults marked what was supposed to be the memorial service for these workers.
I am pleased to set foot here barely three days after Human Rights Day in the company of the Deputy President of South Africa to commemorate World TB Day. Like the tragedies and fatalities that have come to characterise the mining industry in general and the hard rock industry in particular, the scourge of TB is looming large on the horizon. It is killing people who do not deserve to die, given the strides that the government has made in redefining the health and safety landscape of the mining industry.
This should not come as a surprise, given the legacy of more than a century of mining in this country where race defined the place and location of workers. Injustice could be found in, among other things, disproportionate compensation pay-outs and differentiated benefits between black and white miners, single sex hostels and general neglect of the health of black workers.
Commemorations, as we say in the ANC, are about picking up the spear and rededicating ourselves to fighting – in this case the scourge of TB particularly in the mining industry.
Although we have made modest strides, it is unacceptable that the mining industry is still reporting a significantly high number of TB cases, despite advances in technology, available leading practices and the immense research that has been done. For instance, about 4 500 cases of Pulmonary Tuberculosis were reported by the mines during 2010 and this has not improved.
The gold sector continues to report most of the TB cases compared with all other sectors put together. It has been reported that the increase in TB cases has occurred in parallel with the increasing prevalence of HIV infection, which greatly increases susceptibility to TB. That adds great new danger.
In addition to HIV infection, silica inhalation and silicosis itself are potent risk factors for TB. This combination of risk places miners at very high risk of TB.
The Mining Industry TB, HIV and AIDS Advisory Committee (MITHAC), under the auspices of the Mine Health Safety Council (MHSC), has diligently assigned each stakeholder some areas of responsibility with a view to ensuring, that the action plan is implemented in a coordinated and efficient manner.
Much still needs to be done in combating the scourge through the TB and HIV integrated Plan of Care. Both TB and HIV prevention and care must be provided simultaneously to the co-infected patients. Mining companies must provide a holistic patient-centred care model. There must be provision of comprehensive care to the co-infected patient. The provision of a “supermarket approach” or “one-stop shop” is an example of full integration of services where the co-infected patients are receiving care at the same time.
It is for this reason that the action plan strongly advocates the development of integrated policy for the management and reporting of TB, HIV/AIDS and Silicosis in line with the NSP and other relevant policies, norms and standards.
A reputable service provider has been identified and terms of reference developed. Subsequent to the finalisation of the policy, there will be improved implementation and reporting without any form of comprise on the part of mining companies.
To this end, mining companies must ensure that there are adequate treatment regimens.
The Mining Charter also requires measures for improving the standard of housing including the upgrading of single-sex accommodation to married quarters and the promotion of home-ownership options for mine employees. As a mining sector, we have always engaged and we will always engage in meaningful community dialogue with relevant stakeholders on social conditions in relation to TB and HIV.
Normalisation of mining companies cannot be done without the submission of a Social and Labour Plan (SLP) as a pre-requisite for the granting of mining or production rights. Thus the action plan seeks to ensure renewal, and new mining licences have strategic and operational plans for HIV/AIDS and TB which are submitted as part of application.
My department’s inspectors are currently conducting group audits. The purpose of the audits is also to evaluate mine management systems for preventing exposure of employees to dust (including silica dust) which could result in workers suffering from silicosis.
As part of the audits, mines’ TB, HIV and AIDS programmes are being evaluated to ensure that there is improvement. Mine inspectors are also checking whether the mines are complying with the Mining Charter commitments for improving living conditions of employees and conversion of single-sex hostels.
We, therefore, wish to pledge our unconditional and unequivocal support to the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), the National Department of Health (NDOH) and other departments and agencies in their efforts to reduce TB cases and HIV infection. To this end, mining companies must strive for alignment and harmonisation of their workplace policies and programmes with the National Strategic Plan.
A newspaper editorial (note: Cape Times, 23 March) emphasised yesterday that the message is getting through: “There is little doubt that the current HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis epidemics are the biggest challenges the South African health system will ever face.” We are talking about our most precious asset, our own people. So I would add that these two are the biggest challenges the mining sector faces.
I thank you.
