The Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) wants inclusion in the National Inquiry into artisanal mining’s Stilfontein crisis, and Operation Vala Umgodi.
The inquiry was initiated by the Human Rights Council (SAHRC), starting from Wednesday, the 01st October 2025.
The Council’s Wisani Baloyi, said in a statement, the inquiry will be threefold, considering the impact of artisanal /illegal mining on human rights of the Stilfontein community. It will also consider policy gaps and lastly operation Vala UMgodi.
MACUA said while it welcomes the Commission’s move, after a year of silence, delay, and retreat, it wants the Terms of Reference (ToR) revised, to guarantee sufficient time for communities to present evidence, as well as the inclusion of complainant and Khuma volunteers in the programme.
“For years, communities have looked to the SAHRC to protect their rights, in the 2015 national hearings on artisanal mining and the 2018 hearings on mining-affected communities. Yet more than seven years later, the Commission has failed to hold the state to account for its ongoing abuses of mining-affected communities.”
Picture: SAHRC