North West Acting Premier and MEC for Finance, Paul Sebegoe has condemned violence associated with the protracted strike in the platinum belt after a non-striking mineworker was attacked at his home and another had his car set alight in villages near Rustenburg.
“Harshest sentences would be a deterrent for those perpetuating the on-going violence to know that there consequences for undermining the Peace and Stability Accord signed by role-players in the mining sector,” emphasised Acting Premier Sebegoe.
The Acting Premier called on police not to leave any stone unturned for those behind the attacks to be brought to book and for communities to assist them in their investigations.
According to police, a 38-year old man who is a non-striking employee of Anglo American Platinum’s(Amplats) Thembelani shaft in Bleskop and a former Amcu member was attacked at his home in Mfidikwe on Tuesday night.
It is alleged that the man woke up when he heard someone throwing stones at his shack.
“Upon investigation, the victim noticed that his curtains were alight. Three gun shots were allegedly fired at his shack,” Colonel Emelda Setlhako said.
He screamed for help and neighbours came to his rescue.
In a separate incident, a 38-year-old man’s car was reportedly set alight in Thekwane in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The man, also an Amplats employee, works at the company’s Siphumele mine.
“The victim was asleep at his place when he realised that his vehicle was on fire. Neighbours managed to extinguish the fire but the vehicle had already been damaged,” said Setlhako.
No arrests had been made in either incident and police were investigating cases of attempted murder, arson, and malicious damage to property.
Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) members at Lonmin, Amplats, and Impala Platinum downed tools on 23 January to push for a basic monthly salary of R12 500. They had so far rejected a wage increase of up to nine percent.
The companies, in turn, rejected Amcu’s revised demand that the R12 500 could be achieved over four years.
Last week, mining bosses said the strike had caused irreparable harm, and had caused an estimated R10bn in revenue to be lost.
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