admin“We are worse off than during the times of apartheid. We are being killed by our own people. We are being oppressed by our own government,” he told mineworkers at the Aurora mine in Grootvlei, Springs.
More than 1 000 mineworkers from the liquidated Aurora Empowerment Systems and the neighbouring Gold One arrived to hear Malema speak.
He said politicians could not help the workers because they benefited from the mines and had shares in them.
“Every mine has a politician inside. They give them money every month, they call it shares. But it is protection fee to protect whites against the workers.”
He said the fact the Aurora crisis had lasted for four years showed there was no leadership in the country.
Aurora Empowerment Systems bought the mines when the previous owner, Pamodzi Gold, went into liquidation. Since then workers have not been paid and the mines have been stripped of assets.
“If there was leadership in this country it can’t take four years. Four years shows that there is not leadership. When they [politicians] arrive to represent you, they give them money and they forget you.”
Malema told the workers they should form a committee to speak to the lawyers and present their complaints to the liquidators of Aurora.
He announced what he labelled the start of a revolution in the mining sector.
“We are going to lead a mining revolution in this country. We are going to each mine. We will run these mines ungovernable until the Boers come to the table,” he said.
“We want them to give you a minimum wage of R12 500. These people can afford R12 500. Mining in South Africa amounts to trillions of rands.”
About 5 000 people had been left jobless at Aurora. It was currently under liquidation.
The prospective buyers of Aurora mines, Gold One, have allegedly fired over 1 500 workers who went on strike demanding a minimum wage of R6 500.
The miners claimed management then replaced them with contract workers.
Meanwhile, ANC Youth League protesters dispersed peacefully yesterday after they marched on the offices of the Limpopo premier and education MEC.
The march, which was delayed for over an hour, started under heavy police presence at SABC park. Officers in about 10 vehicles kept watch.
Pupils of the Moruleng and Mohlakaneng secondary schools, in Seshego outside Polokwane, were bussed in to join the march.
The pupils, who were there without the permission of their schools, carried placards with slogans “We demand jobs” and “Administration must release our province”.
The league was marching against the national government placing five Limpopo departments, including education, under administration in December 2011.
Malema attended Mohlakaneng Secondary.
The education department said it was disappointing that ANCYL members were disrupting schooling.
“The department condemns the disruption of schools for political gains,” spokesperson Pat Kgomo said in a statement.
“We want to urge the principals, school governing bodies and parents to urgently report any disruptions to the law enforce-ment agency, and also appeal to learners to refrain from participating in any event that is not curriculum orientated.”
The crowd first marched to Education MEC Dickson Masemola’s office to hand a memorandum to him.
After waiting for about 30 minutes, they left for the premier’s office, saying they would be back later in the day.
Provincial league secretary Jacob Lebogo said the protesters would not hand the memorandum to an unknown official. It had to be to the MEC himself.
“If Dickson Masemola wants us to stop education in our schools he must continue with his behaviour,” Lebogo said.
The march then moved to Limpopo Premier Cassel Mathale’s office. Dressed in ANC T-shirts they sang: “We are changing President Jacob Zuma’s government” and “The Youth League must pray for us”.
The group marched to Mathale’s office to hand over a memorandum demanding he fire Masemola and deliver textbooks to schools in the province. Mathale was also unavailable to receive the memorandum. It was eventually handed to Co-operative Governance MEC Clifford Motsepe. — Sapa.
Online Reporter