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.
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