| Welcome to Next Africa, a twice-weekly newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it's headed. Sign up here to have it delivered to your email. An attempt by the South African authorities to force hundreds of informal miners illegally operating in abandoned shafts to resurface has backfired spectacularly. The police sealed off the shafts at the Buffelsfontein gold mine, southwest of Johannesburg, in October to deny the miners access to food, water and other essentials.  South African police officers at the Buffelsfontein mine. Photographer: Christian Velcich/AFP/Getty Images Members of a community near the mine set up a makeshift rope-pulley system to help retrieve people from 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) underground. It proved woefully inadequate and the government initially refused to help, saying it wouldn't rescue people participating in illegal activities. It's unclear how many remain in the shafts, with some estimates putting the number at more than 1,000. Civil rights groups say at least 100 people died from starvation. The government backed down after being hit with a lawsuit aimed at forcing it to intervene and private contractors were enlisted to extract the miners. That's likely to take 10 days and cost some 12 million rand ($633,000). More than 70 people have been brought to the surface this week, but it's unclear how many are still alive. Illegal mining is seen as a severe drain on the economy, costing the nation and the formal industry billions of rand each year. There are about 6,000 abandoned operations strewn across the country, and there is no way of knowing how many are occupied by the "zama zamas" (as the informal miners are known). They work under appalling conditions and sell their finds to gangs that are prone to using violence to protect their turf. Yet the disdain the government has shown for the plight of the Stilfontein miners has garnered global attention and scarred its human-rights record. "They didn't care whether these people come out alive or not," said Zinzi Tom, whose sibling is trapped underground. — S'thembile Cele Key stories and opinion:
Operation to Rescue Illegal South African Miners Gets Under Way
South Africa Police Standoff With Illegal Gold Miners Escalates
Gangs Stealing Cables Miles Underground Torment Platinum Giants
A $40 Billion GDP Hit Puts Crime at Heart of South Africa's Vote
Violent Crime in South Africa Spawns a Booming Business John Mahama, Ghana's new president, scrapped seven government ministries to save costs, fulfilling an undertaking his predecessor made to the International Monetary Fund to make the administration leaner and more effective. The country sought a $3 billion bailout from the Washington-based lender in 2022 because it couldn't keep up with debt payments. Mahama returned to power in the world's second-largest cocoa grower after an eight-year absence amid voter anger over high living costs. He's vowed to stabilize the economy.  Mahama at his Jan. 7 inauguration in Accra, Ghana's capital. Photographer: Ernest Ankomah/Bloomberg Mozambican lawmakers elected Margarida Talapa as the new parliamentary speaker at a ceremony that was snubbed by members of two opposition parties protesting against the outcome of October elections. The former labor minister is from the Frelimo party, which has held power in Mozambique since independence from Portugal in 1975. Its candidate, Daniel Chapo, is due to be sworn in as president on Wednesday. The disputed vote has sparked the worst protests that the gas-rich nation has seen. The UK and Mauritius said they've made good progress in talks about the future of the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean, including the stewardship of a key US-British military base. The two nations "reiterated their commitment" to brokering a treaty that will see the UK cede sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, while securing the long-term operation of the military installation on the main island, Diego Garcia. A deal was originally sealed in October, but the new Mauritian government led by premier Navinchandra Ramgoolam re-opened talks, questioning the benefits of the accord.  Diego Garcia in the Chagos archipelago. Source: US Geological Survey/Getty Images Barrick Gold is temporarily halting mining at the vast Loulo-Gounkoto complex in Mali, the latest escalation of its months-long dispute with the nation's military junta. Barrick has been blocked from exporting gold since November and the government has started seizing bullion stockpiled at the mine. The government also put out an arrest warrant for Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow. Chad's leader Mahamat Déby reinforced his grip on power after his party secured a two-thirds majority in last month's parliamentary elections that were boycotted by the main opposition. The Patriotic Salvation Movement won 124 of 188 seats in the National Assembly, preliminary results show, up from 83 seats. The release of the voting tallies came days after an attack on the presidential palace in Chad's capital, N'Djamena, in which 20 people died.  A voting station in N'Djamena. Photographer: Mouta/AP Photo Hoteliers in South Sudan have taken the government to court, alleging it had failed to pay for years of services, with about $61 million in arrears and interest currently outstanding. More than 31 hotels in Juba, the capital, have asked the Arusha, Tanzania-based East African Court of Justice to compel the government to settle its bills after they housed hundreds of officials who participated in various rounds of peace talks in the war-torn nation, according to their lawyer. Thank you for your responses to our weekly Next Africa Quiz and congratulations to Altan Ari, who correctly identified South Africa's African National Congress, which marked the 113th anniversary of its founding last week, as the continent's oldest political movement. South Africa's economy is expected to grow modestly this year after misfiring for more than a decade, boosted by steps to remove obstacles to output, lower interest rates and higher consumer spending. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect gross domestic product to expand 1.7%. That compares with less than 1% on average in the prior decade. Even so, the anticipated expansion won't be enough to reduce one of the world's highest unemployment rates. Thanks for reading. We'll be back in your inbox with the next edition on Friday. Send any feedback to mcohen21@bloomberg.net | 
No comments:
Post a Comment