By: Matshidiso Selebeleng
Three years after the devastating September 2022 Jagersfontein mine disaster, which left five people dead, over 300 injured, and thousands of homes destroyed.
Members of this community say they may be facing yet another horror, as their newly built houses are on the brink of collapse.
The mine collapse, which released six million cubic meters of contaminated waste, is a structural failure of a mine which resulted in a mudslide.
The mining company committed R150 million to compensate the victims, but to date, the victims are still in pain and have no hope that their lives will ever change for the better.
The newly built structures are not only too small but also plagued by poor construction materials, evident in the cracks that have begun to appear. Weak window frames, incomplete construction works, and inadequate electricity connections pose a significant security risk, leaving residents vulnerable and anxious that they may go through another disaster.
The disaster is now regarded as one of the worst mining-related environmental catastrophes in democratic South Africa.
This week Journal News visited Jagersfontein, a town in the Xhariep District of the southern Free State, to assess the progress made in providing housing for community members in Charlesville and Itumeleng townships that were affected by the disaster.
The investigation was to determine how far the community has come in rebuilding their lives and addressing their housing needs.
Sidelined, unanswered questions, and neglected by the government, the residents of Jaggersfontein are privy to yet another disaster, and theysaa, they are not at peace.
Joyce Tsotetsi, a resident and victim whose house was wiped away by the mudslide, says she is scared for her life.
“These houses are small, and some of us are cramped in there with our furniture. My previous house was not big, but it was spacious and safe. I am not happy at all, and they must come back and fix these houses.
“My children even had to put burglars on my windows because I live alone with young children,” said Joyce Tsietsi.
Some say their newly built houses do not have an electricity infrastructure.
Tseko Ntelele says, “I use candles because the new houses don’t have a proper electricity connection.
“I take medication every day, and I always have to make fire to cook, because the electricity breaker they put for me is not working.”
Thabo Mosala also says that he is not happy at all because it looks like they were just in a hurry to build the houses without a proper plan.
The families that were affected by the mudslide were given a starter pack of money to buy their household furniture.
“We don’t feel safe living with our children in these houses because any day now they will fall on us. I even had to move my younger children.
“ I received a once-off payment of R35 000, and they said they will give us another one in two years. What am I going to do with that little money, because I have a lot of furniture and it's in good condition?
“I told them that instead of them giving me the money, I can give them the receipts for my furniture, and they will buy it themselves because that money is too little, it's not even half of what my furniture was worth,” said Mosala.
He added that his house was half tiled, and they said they would come back and finish, but they never did.
Journal News reached out to the Xhariep District spokesperson to get clarity on how government intervention would be, but did not get a response.
So far, five employees of an engineering company have been charged in connection with the dam collapse.
Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Zweli Mohobeleli confirmed that criminal charges have been filed following a lengthy investigation conducted in collaboration with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment.
