CAPE TOWN, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- The ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Wednesday urged the mining industry to ensure the safety of mineworkers, following two incidents in which seven miners were killed in less than one month.
Voicing "grave concern" over the growing number of workers losing their lives in South African mines, the ANC said the recent incidents entail drastic action by all stakeholders to eliminate fatalities and injuries.
In late August, five mineworkers were killed at Kusasalethu mine in Carltonville, Gauteng Province, after a tremor caused sections of the gold mine to collapse.
On Tuesday, two more miners were killed when a rock fell on their heads at the Impala Platinum Mine in Rustenburg, North West Province.
"It has been and remains an unambiguous objective of the ANC that we create safe and decent working conditions for mine workers," ANC national spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said.
The recent deaths have dashed a collective objective, set by the Department of Mineral Resources, mining companies, trade unions and lobby groups, to achieve the goal of zero harm in 2017.
Mining fatalities steadily decreased from 112 in 2012 to 93 in 2013, 84 in 2014 and 77 in 2015. However, an improvement of only five percent, with 73 deaths recorded in 2016, has raised the ire of many in the mining industry, with claims that generalized stagnation is hampering further progress in trying to reduce fatalities.
