An irate Mpumalanga family is vowing to take legal action against the authorities after two children fell into a sinkhole and died.
Yesterday, family spokesperson Tankiso Mokalala said it had been about a week since 13-year-old Thato Qoi and his 10-year-old cousin, Lindelani Mokalala, from Klarinet in Emalahleni, were buried, but the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, and the mining firm, had not come to discuss compensating the family for the deaths allegedly caused by their negligence.
“The children died because of the sinkhole left open by one of the mines and the department failed to use the rehabilitation fee to fix the environment and to hold the mine accountable,” claimed Mokalala.
R50 000 funeral offer, then silence
“That is why we are negotiating with legal representatives on how we can hold the involved stakeholders accountable for the tragedy. My family is traumatised.”
Mokalala said department officials and one of the mining companies that previously operated in the area offered R50 000 for the funeral of the children.
Thereafter, there had been no communication between the family and officials.
He said four children playing next to the pit had slipped into the sinkhole full of water. Residents rescued two, but the cousins were already dead, he said.
A well-known law firm is negotiating with the family concerning the matter.
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Community warns sinkholes are widespread
Pule Khoza from Enough Is Enough, a community representative group, said there were many sinkholes in Klarinet, which endanger the lives of children.
In 2024, the community protested at the department’s local offices about the sinkholes, but they did not get answers. A month later, a child fell into one of the sinkholes and died, Khoza said.
“We need the department to rehabilitate the area or force the mining firms to fix their mess.
“These sinkholes are in close proximity to residential areas. That is why children keep dying.”
Civil society groups said the department is responsible for the deaths as they have not forced the mining firms to handle the problem. They also accuse it of failing to use the rehabilitation fees paid before mining permits are issued to do so.
Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) said similar incidents had happened in other parts of the country.
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‘Predictable outcome of a broken mining system’
“The deaths of children in Klarinet, like the deaths of two children in Masakhane village in Emalahleni and the five year old who fell into a mine ventilation shaft in Jerusalem informal settlement in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, are the predictable outcome of a mining system that allowed companies to extract value and exit without fully accounting for the physical, environmental and social hazards left behind.
“In many parts of SA, informal settlements exist alongside abandoned or inadequately rehabilitated mine shafts, pits and tailings.
“These sites are known to regulators. The dangers are documented. Yet responsibility for rehabilitating them has repeatedly been deferred, diluted or transferred to the state without adequate funding or enforcement,” said National coordinator, Sabelo Mnguni.
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More than 6 200 abandoned mines
Mining expert David van Wyk said: “The department and the mining firm should be held accountable for the tragedy.
“We have more than 6 200 abandoned and derelict mines, and the number is increasing daily. We regularly have children dying as a consequence, but we have yet to see a mine being prosecuted.”
The department has not responded to questions sent to them.
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