Zwane: Mine safety status quo cannot continue
Mineral Resources minister, Mosebenzi Zwane says the deaths of five miners this week needs to be a turning point in mine safety.
Zwane made the remarks at Harmony Gold's Kusasalethu mine following the deaths of 5 workers in Carltonville.
"We will talk, engage and hear from the workers themselves because they are underground, then with management. We will then launch a safety campaign thereafter. We want to make this industry the safest. There will be challenges but that is our target," says Zwane
The miners died after a seismic event last Friday, with the final two bodies brought to the surface yesterday.
Zwane also reiterated his support for the implementation of section 54 of Mine Health and Safety Act.
The section enables the Mineral Resources Department to close an entire mine and its shafts when there is a mine fatality.
"We all have adopted a zero-harm strategy. We do not wish to sketch a scenario of who the culprits are but I can tell you that whatever the outcome of the report, it will be followed without fear," says Zwane.
Harmony Gold chairman Patrice Motsepe says one life lost, is one too many.
"It's difficult to look these families in the eye. It is one of the most painful and emotionally devastating experience. You have to look a family in their eyes and say yes there was a seismic event, and we are not only complying with law but that these workers lost their life in our mine. We have to take the responsibility," says Motsepe.