Makhotla Sefuli
A series of community meetings and consultations have been an ongoing process for some time in Nyakallong. The community has gone through a terrible experience with AMD since 2021 after the reopening of Voelpan Dam by Harmony Gold Mine. In our last report on the Targeted Investigation program, we highlighted the impact of the dam on housing. For this year we shifted our focus from housing to agriculture, with small-scale livestock farming as our focal area.
On the 8th of August 2024, we had a robust engagement with the local livestock farmers, this was informed by our community capacity-building initiative of the Community Monitoring School.
The farmers had a chance to voice out their grievances and frustrations with the dam, they told us about how their animals have been dying while others are unable to conceive after mating. Others can conceive but miscarry and lose the fetus after a few weeks, this has brought misery and despondency because some of the farmers live off their livestock. Most of the cattle are very lean and that has affected their sales enormously. They can’t sell at the market price on the weekend livestock market for the local people who have funerals and other functions. Our task is a mammoth one as the community monitors, and the farmers see us as their only hope in the face of adversity that confronts them daily. We came to a few agreements with them during the meeting.
Some of the points that we agreed on include among others:-
1. We will assist them with the veterinary surgeon
2. Begin the process of litigation against the mine
3. The farmers will gather more evidence to build a strong case.
4. Get the water samples to be tested with a laboratory
Fortunately for us, an agricultural department official was present on that day and they too committed to supporting our course as the community monitors. Less than two weeks after we met with the farmers, we received the sad news that two cows had died mysteriously. After two days one died and others were already displaying signs of distress. The farmers have run out of options and don’t know who to turn to, for two weeks we have been running from pillar to post trying to seek intervention with no success. Meanwhile, the cattle continue to die each day and it’s up to us to act swiftly to get a permanent solution to this calamitous
situation.
