Government will take legal action against the owners of the dam that collapsed in Jagersfontein on Sunday, resulting in flooding and at least one death.
READ: Search and rescue underway after dam wall breaks in Jagersfontein
Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo said that four concerns were found during a previous investigation of the company, Jagersfontein Developments. ‘There were four non-compliance issues; the amount of water they were using in terms of the licence, they were above, which was unlawful,’ he said, according to EWN. The mine was reportedly ordered to rectify these issues by January 2021 but failed to do so.
However, the company’s legal compliance officer, Marius de Villiers denied these claims, reports News24. ‘Our last report, the engineering report submitted by the mine was in June this year. We have to do that quarterly and we have complied with that,’ he said, adding that the company is doing everything possible to assist with the investigation and find the cause of the collapse.
‘The fact that a person died is tragic, but we mustn’t now try to put the blame on people for what had happened. Let the process continue and get done where after [a] decision will be made, not only by us but by authorities as well,’ De Villiers said.
Jagersfontein Developments announced it would donate a large sum of money to the affected community. ‘We have made R20-million available immediately for affected people on the ground and the restoration of the town,’ they said according to Daily Maverick.
President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the site on 12 September.
Aerial footage of the aftermath was shared on social media:
Our response team from TSF Risk Solutions have been posting these pictures and videos on LinkedIn if you want to follow. The social and enviro scale of this tailings disaster is huge. #jagersfontein pic.twitter.com/FTxsgQLtoK
— denzyl pearse (@dporganic123) September 11, 2022
Picture: Screenshot
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