Mineral Resources minister meets with Northam over violent clashes
Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane is at Northam Platinum where he is meeting with management and unions following the death of two mineworkers since Sunday.
Violent clashes between the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) earlier this week led to underground operations at Northam's Zondereinde mine being suspended.
Mosebenzi is meeting with stakeholders behind closed doors on Thursday to map the way forward.
One person died on Monday after being stabbed with an assegai. That came after another employee was shot and killed on Sunday afternoon.
There was also some dispute about which unions the two deceased belonged to.
In a media release from management it stated the two men belonged to NUM, but in a statement released by Amcu claimed one member - who was killed on Monday - was one of theirs.
Amcu's Manzini Zungu said management and police should have taken better charge and questioned how a man could have been killed in full view of security and police.
"We haven't even heard from police that they have gone to the hostel and disarmed these people," Zungu said.
Zungu said they know it was NUM members that killed their member.
"We can confirm that it was NUM members that were armed to the teeth that killed this member and we maintain he was a member of Amcu," Zungu said.
Meanwhile, the NUM's Livhuwani Mammburu said their members were scared of being gunned down.
"NUM is not responsible for violence here. The unrest that is happening now happened after our member was gunned down last week Sunday. This is the sixth member of NUM to be killed here," Mammburu said.