Unpacking xenophobia through the eyes of the informal miner
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- In Articles, Media
- by Gugu Nonjinge and Sinqobile Makhathini
Mining has played a central role in the economic development of Stilfontein and the broader North West province of South Africa.
Gold mining, in particular, has been a key industry in the region, shaping the economic landscape for much of the 20th and early 21st centuries.
The cyclical nature of the mining industry is often at odds with the need for long-term economic stability in local communities.
When mines close or reduce operations, the unemployment rate rises, and the local population suffers from a lack of alternative economic opportunities. In response to the lack of formal employment opportunities in the wake of mine closures, informal mining operations have flourished.
These operations, carried out by individuals or small groups without formal authorisation, can be seen as a desperate attempt by local and migrant miners from the Southern African region to sustain themselves amid the absence of alternative livelihoods.
Xenophobia continues
For years South Africa has been grappling with sporadic and sometimes lethal xenophobic harassment and violence against African and Asian foreign nationals living in the country, including refugees, asylum seekers, and both documented and undocumented migrants.
In 2019, the government initiated a five-year National Action Plan to combat xenophobia, racism, and discrimination. Despite this, sporadic incidents of xenophobic discrimination and violence have continued.
It is important at this point to briefly examine the prima facie reasons given by South Africans for their intolerant attitudes towards foreign nationals, and assess the extent to which these attitudes are based in fact to identify root causes.
What exactly are these sentiments and how entrenched are they? Although it is difficult to define the extent of xenophobic sentiments among the population precisely, it is clear from multiple public opinion surveys that many South Africans do not trust foreign nationals.
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The South African Reconciliation Barometer (SARB), a nationally representative survey conducted by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, found that foreign nationals from other African countries were the least trusted group among South Africans in 2023. More than half (55%) of all respondents said they either trust foreign nationals not very much or not at all.
While media sensationalism cannot be regarded as the sole reason for public attitudes and perceptions of migrants, they are a contributing factor. The paradigm of all African migrants as criminals has found a home in many of the local news outlets.
Recent developments in Stilfontein, a mining town in North West province, have ignited xenophobic sentiments regarding the informal miners known as "ama-Zama Zama". AmaZama Zama is known to hail from different (economically depressed parts) parts of Southern Africa, such as Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.
This activity and attraction to mining are not new to South Africa, as labour from different parts of the region formed part of the making and formation of modern South Africa. This forms an interesting nexus, as the Stilfontein was founded based on mining and the discovery of gold in the late 1940s, with a mix of local and foreign migrant labour.
Failure to regulate
However, the situation is more complex, and solidarity with these workers and migrants remains limited. On one hand, the majority of these black men appear to be young, while the connections between organised criminal syndicates, corporate interests, and governance issues are often downplayed.
Despite their informal status, the miners are organised, with access to food, transportation, and communication with their families. The focus tends to be on this group of precarious workers on the frontlines.
As we reflect on this moment, we must ask: what drives these young men to choose to die underground rather than risk deportation? Is it fear of their employers or the threat to their families if they speak out?
The focus should shift toward preserving lives by facilitating the safe return of miners, as well as conducting a thorough investigation into informal mining operations and their links to organised crime. This responsibility falls on regulatory authorities of the state, which leads to compounding issues regarding mining activity in the country.
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The failure to regulate and monitor the full rehabilitation of mines by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) after their closure also remains a concern that has serious implications for the surrounding communities. Despite Stilfontein being rehabilitated, this questions whether the mine met its full rehabilitation requirements before the DMRE issued a closure certificate.
Additionally, whether it adhered to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) and The Mines Health and Safety Act requires mine shafts and tunnels to be safely closed or sealed at the end of the mine's life to prevent unauthorised entry.
This complex nexus of events points to the government's failure and inadequacy in rehabilitating mines and the state's failure to grapple with the frustrations of mining communities that were once the centre of economic activities but are no longer. It also points to mining companies and the state's failure to ensure their responsibilities were adhered to and completed.
This has made the issue a political and security problem concerning the "myth" of the possibly undocumented miner rather than taking accountability for their role in the matter.
A culture of violence
Xenophobia in South Africa has been particularly disturbing because of its violent manifestation. There exists in this country what has been termed "a culture of violence", defined as being a situation where the use of violence has "become normative instead of deviant" and is viewed as an acceptable response in conflict resolution.
There is an urgent need for the South African government to address the systemic inefficiencies that lead to xenophobic violence. Despite the profound shift in the political landscape of South Africa, the immigration policy remains very much rooted in the thinking and assumptions of the past, not merely in its racially discriminatory impact but equally in its emphasis on the security paradigm of immigration.
Consequently, political figures often use this form of rhetoric as an electioneering strategy and as a mode of scapegoating for their lack of service delivery in the country, which risks fuelling more xenophobic violence, jeopardising the protections in the South African Constitution and international law, not only for foreign nationals but for South African citizens.
The dangerous rhetoric by Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni of telling the media recently, "We will smoke them out", concerning the informal miners in Stilfontein is not a shocking response from government officials. But it is not the first.
These reflect the state's failure to uphold its commitment to the National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. Therefore, community leaders and government officials should avoid using inflammatory xenophobic language, which further fuels xenophobic attitudes.
This article was originally published on News24
Sinqobile Makhathini
Sinqobile Makhathini is a Research Intern at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and an Honours student in Development Studies and International Relations at Wits.
