Mining and ‘Traditional Communities’ in South Africa's ‘Platinum Belt’: Contestations over Land, Leadership and Assets in North-West Province c.1996–2012

Abstract

In June 2012 at its policy conference, the African National Congress (ANC) rejected nationalisation of the country's ailing mining industry. The ANC proposed an alternative plan comprised of the imposition of higher taxes and penalties on mining houses, local beneficiation of minerals and a greater role for the state in new mining ventures. More recently the idea of a ‘super tax’ on profits has been mooted by the Minister for Energy and Minerals, Susan Shabangu. Although the details of these proposals are yet to be finalised and the nationalisation debate is still not off the table, this brought some clarity after months of uncertainty and placated the fears of shareholders, potential investors and the mining houses themselves. Implicit in many debates and statements about the industry's future, however, is the idea that local or near-mine communities should benefit (through royalties, joint ventures, share transactions or employment) from mining on land they own or occupy. The recent violence and death of over 50 people at Marikana, mostly mineworkers, and the consequent prolonged bout of worker unrest and crisis in the South African mining industry, loom large in the public consciousness and have overshadowed other sources of social discontent and division among the region's residents. This article explores how the payment of royalties and the profits from investments, from the time of the platinum boom in the mid-1990s, have affected three local ethnic groups who occupy mineral-rich lands in the Rustenburg region of the Province. It reveals a pattern of financial mismanagement, inter-ethnic competition between the ruling elites and between traditional power holders and commoners, ineffectual government intervention and a series of legal and political challenges mounted by the contending parties. Clearly the practice is fraught with complexities and has accentuated ethnic sentiments while complicating and slowing the conclusion of contractual agreements to exploit the mineral potential of the region.