AMCU commemorates twelfth Marikana massacre anniversary
As trade union Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) commemorates the Marikana massacre on its twelfth anniversary this year, many structural underlying issues remain, former South African Navy admiral Dr Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala has said.
In her keynote address during AMCU’s memorial lecture on August 7, she said the killing of 34 people at the Marikana platinum mine, near Rustenburg, on August 16, 2012, was the work of capitalist influences on the government and police force of the time.
Tensions between mineworkers and authorities reached a breaking point when police opened fire on protesters.
She said she did not believe there had been true freedom in South Africa, even three decades into the advent of democracy in the country. She also expressed doubt about whether mineworkers were benefitting from the country’s mineral endowments as they should.
The aftermath of colonialism and Apartheid remained strong, Litchfield-Tshabalala said.
“How autonomous are we as a people to express our rights to freedom without prejudice or pressure?,” she questioned, adding that foreign ideals influenced South African decision-makers excessively.
Litchfield-Tshabalala said this was also the case in other countries on the continent and called for the end of capitalism and neoliberalism in the country and on the continent.
AMCU president Joseph Mathunjwa closed the memorial lecture by stating that mineworkers in South Africa remained largely exploited and underappreciated, hence the union’s continued emphasis on remembering Marikana as long as these issues remained unresolved.
Mathunjwa said the events at Marikana in 2012 exposed the flaws in South Africa’s democracy and socioeconomic order and would continue to provide an opportunity for introspection and change.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
ISO-certified Condra manufactures overhead cranes, portal cranes, cantilever cranes and crane components: hoists, drives, end-carriages, brakes and...
VISIT SHOWROOM
ESAB South Arica, the leading supplier of high-end welding and cutting products to the Southern African industrial market is based in...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
