Bafokeng chief adopts 43 public schools

Looks like the ‘richest nation in Africa’ is quickly losing popularity with its people. If they are not relocating communities for new mining projects, they impose their puppet chiefs onto vulnerable communities. Their public image is very well doctored, always praised for caring for their peoples’ needs. The shocking contrary is true.

Since 2009 it was rumoured that Sue Cook and Bafokeng chief were planning to take control of the public schools around the “Royal Bafokeng Nation”. It was announced on the 04th February 2012 that all 43 schools in the Bafokeng territory have been adopted by the Bafokeng. The Bafokeng will invest R450m in infrastructural maintenance of the schools, (period unknown). On average R10m for each school.

The real concern amongst teachers and communities begs on whether government  has relegated its responsibilities in favour of privatisation of public schools. What was wrong with government receiving R450m grant sponsorship from the Bafokeng instead of outsourcing their responsibilities? Has there been a service level agreement signed? Is this agreement authorised by various community councils (makgotla)? Will there be equitable or equal allocation of the budget amongst all Bafokeng schools? Will the Bafokeng impose their questionable ethos into the school curricula? We have read of the recent racist practices at the Lebone II school and how kids are turned into guinea pigs.

Lebone II gets all the attention from the Royal Bafokeng family. It is allocated well over R10m per annum. The school fees are discriminatory, with a huge number of elite Johannesburg and Botswana  learners seen registering during the January registration period. It is rumoured that those learners who graduate from the school, able to recite praise poems to the Bafokeng chief, will qualify for Bafokeng citizenship, with plum jobs in Johannesburg-based, Niall Carroll-led ‘Bafokeng’ institutions . Despite all the attention, the learners’ school results have so far been disappointing, while their counterparts at ‘government schools’ have excelled.

It is certain that the spin doctors led by Suzan Cook, Adolph Zietsman, Niall Carroll and George Harris, will continue with their separate development project for the Bafokeng people, paying much attention to the elitist Lebone II, and allocating meagre budgets to ‘government schools’. ‘After a public furore over the Lebone II project, the deceiving R450m investment could just turn out to be another extravagant public image exercise. It is also a power stunt.. the tail wagging the head’, poked the local social activist, Thusi Rapoo. ‘The Bafokeng is renowned for controlling the gullible local organs of state, under the watch and auspices of the Provincial and National Governments’.

Leruo Molotlegi Visits Kgotlakgolo ya Chaneng

Leruo Molotlegi of Bafokeng made an urgent visit to the Chaneng community council (lekgotla) on the 04^th February 2012, after a four year absence. The Community came in numbers hoping to hear for themselves what the meeting was about.

As the meeting started, a member requested the agenda of the meeting as ‘no one knew what the meeting was all about’. Instead of responding to the question, the chairperson insisted rather that the community raise their concerns. When issues were raised, the Chairperson started interrupting the speakers, forcing them to speak his way. The community got out of control, expressing their dissatisfaction.

Leruo was guarded by his heavily armed security company. He also brought with him his photographers, who were up and about taking (video) pictures. The intimidating security also refused the Community to use their cell phones to take (video) pictures. The Community was unsettled and afraid to talk. Smelling a rat, the elders warned the youth for restrain, concerned that their children would again be arrested.

The Community was disturbed by the headman’s wife (Mmakgosana), who opened a case against the Secretary of lekgotla. The Secretary was detained at midnight by the police, who were accompanied by Mmakgosana. She (the Secretary) left her critically ill husband behind with the kids, to spend a night in jail.

Mmakgosana had falsely accused the Secretary, claiming that the Secretary had forged her husband’s (the headman’s) signature. Lekgotla sought legal representation for the Secretary, and accused Mmakgosana for not following proper procedure. Lekgotla insisted that, in terms of lekgotla custom, Mmakgosana should have brought the matter to lekgotla before opening a case at the police station.

Taking his stand, Leruo told the community that “le bua ditlontlokwane”, meaning the community was talking rubbish. Adjourning, the community left the meeting deeply humiliated by Leruo’s words.

‘This is why we are against the proposed Traditional Courts Act which says the chief, or his nominee, must be the judge at the tribal court.  How can a chief who does not care about, or who does not know how to talk to his people be a judge at the tribal Court? I won’t be surprised if he appoints his mother to be a tribal judge!’ cautioned March Motene, a local community activist.

BenchMarks Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility

The Bafokeng Land Buyers Association attended the launch of the BenchMarks Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility on the 23 January 2012 held at the Elgron Hotel, Potchefstroom. The Centre is a partnership between the North West University (Potchefstroom), Benchmarks Foundation, and the Swedish government.
The University emphasised the need for eductional institutions to play an active role as a transformation agents and for the university to be more involved in social issues, working with communities and assisting them to overcome burdens imposed by socio economic conditions.
Through the Centre, the University will offer certificates, diplomas on Corporate Social Responsibility. There is currently a Phd student enrolled on the subject.
Bench Marks Foundation has previously released damning reports on terrible corporate practices by mines operating in Rustenburg, and how the mines collude with the tribal authorities to trample on people and earth rights. In his keynote adress Bishop Jo Seoka described how the mines paints glossy pictures on their corporate reports, with misleading, assymetrical information on their social investment programmes. The Rustenburg Monitors, a group of students and researchers also presented a report on how their areas in Rustenburg are affected by the mines.
The Swedish Ambassador, the University Rector, The Dean of the Faculty of Arts, the former rector retired Prof Tjaart, Dean of Theology, Professor Duvenage, John Capel, David van Wyk, Eric Mokuoa, Phistus Mekgwe, March Motene and many other distinguished dignataries were in attendance.
More information can be obtained from our office at Office No 7, 49 Steen Street (next to Bradlows), Rustenburg. Otherwise one can visit the BenchMarks Foundation at www.bench-marks.org.za and or the University at www.nwu.ac.za.

Royal Bafokeng Family’s clandestine research on the Mafikeng High Court land case 999/08

Two academics commissioned by the ‘Royal Bafokeng Nation’  (RBN) had been hard at work during the months August-September 2011, collecting information from the elderly in the Bafokeng villages about their land claims. The unsuspecting elderly were asked questions that sought to contradict their communities’ Opposing affidavits lodged against the Royal Bafokeng Family in the ongoing Mafikeng High Court Case 999/08.

Mr Nkoto Rapoo, an elderly highly knowledgeable of the history of Mogono Village, has for instance been summoned to Legato (Bafokeng chief’s residence) to appear before the unscrupulous panel made of two lawyers and the two academics. He was asked if he knew of the farms claimed by the Mogono community that included the Hartbeestpruit 88JQ and Klein Doornspruit 108JQ. In their affidavit Mogono Community asserts that should a proper investigation be ordered about the 19^th century  land purchases by indigenous communities around  Rustenburg, it would be revealed that baNtsatsi  were the first group to purchase land from the boers and that they had a hand in the purchase of two additional farms Elandsheuwil (Kgapaatswai) and Goedgedacht (Kgale).

Other elders from Chaneng and Tsitsing villages were similarly summoned.

Foundation for Human Rights supports civil rights organizations in Rustenburg

-Marley

The Bafokeng Land Buyers Association was invited to attend a conference on “Human Rights Civil society Organisations Provincial Participatory Democracy Forum”. The conference, convened by the Foundation for Human Rights (FHR) together with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development was held at the Orion Hotel on the 22^nd of November 2011.

 The purpose of the forum was : to provide space for civil society to exchange views and discuss the key challenges that they face in the province and raise awareness of and strengthen existing mechanisms which facilitate interactions between CBOs and Government. The forum was attended by a number of local civil society organizations in the human rights space, who exchanged views with government on the challenges facing them in advancing human rights. An overview presentation was delivered by Komane Development Services on the state of human rights in North West. The Human Rights challenges identified in the presentation inter alia includes poverty and inequality, unemployment, access to basic education, basic healthcare services and facilities, violence against non nationals and adequate housing and shelter. Deliberations were robust, with a number of community activists raising concern over the inaccessibility of Human Rights Commission, Public Protector, Justice Complaints Commission by poor rural communities. Communities around the Bafokeng are particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses by rampant mining operations taking place in their areas. 'We hope that FHR and Department could work hand in hand with communities in accessing civil rights institutions which are not responsive to vulnerable communities' said Tsitsing activist, Khunou.

 Hassen Lorgat, the facilitator, indicated that ‘participatory democracy is a system of democracy where political decisions are made directly by ordinary people’, and that the aim of the conference was to achieve exactly that. ‘Communities must be involved, and not left out on policy actions that affect their daily lives’.

It was resolved that FHR will strengthen their support for local civic organizations in terms of funding, institutional support, capacity development, and access to justice.

Anarchist Impala Platinum Mine kicked out of Luka, Rustenburg

-Marley

On the 08^th November 2011, Impala Platinum Mine and the Office of the Ward Councillor convened a community meeting at Thethe High School. The Impala officials indicated that the meeting was part of a series of meetings that they are convening in various villages affected by Impala’s operations. These meetings were scheduled to take place every six months. The agenda was prepared by the mine and covered amongst others: skills development, employment, procurement, community development.

 Amid a satisfactory sponsored community turn-out, a complaint was made that the meeting excluded those community members engaged at their workplaces. ‘And for strategic, expedient, and politically divisive reasons, Impala allowed the meeting to be chaired by Ward councilor, Malebo Sephai’ fumed one outraged community member. Apparently, Impala has entered into an agreement with the Local Municipality that the mining company should cease to discuss their operations directly with their host communities.

 Responding to the ‘employment opportunities’ presentation done by Zac Maphoso (Impala HR),the community raised serious concerns about the reliability and relevance of the statistics supporting the presentation. Most of the important concerns that were raised by the community were not answered by the Impala Officials, including the alleged corruption at the local Teba offices.

The angry community urged for the meeting to be aborted. The community then burnt the attendance register, citing that Impala will present a false image to the Department of Minerals and Energy and other authorities that they are working closely with their host communities.

‘It is sad that Impala Platinum Mine has recently been voted by the Sunday Times’ corporate awards to have outperformed every other company on the Corporate Social Investment category. A lie that also seeks to cover the Royal Bafokeng Family’s betrayal of the Luka community’ observed Matlantla, a local community activist.

Royal Bafokeng Platinum ‘s Styldirft 1 & 2 Projects in Chaneng village - a moral and cultural hazard

- Writes Joseph Magobe

'Styldrift 2 may need R10bn investment’, a statement by RBPlat in Platinum Weekly (17 August), is typical asymmetric information that promotes free-market investment in mining projects that are detrimental to the host Chaneng community’s sustenance. 

On 10 August 2011, the Chaneng Community Council (Kgotla) and Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) abandoned their consultative meeting abruptly without agreement. 

Kgotla demanded RBPlat to stop their exploration drilling in the village. Kgotla asserted that in terms of the Mineral, Petroleum and Resources Development Act (MPRDA), Section 5 (4), RBPlat should have consulted and compensated the community, the directly affected and lawful occupiers of the land, before they commenced with the new Project (Styldrift 2) in February 2011.

Corporatocracy, defined as a rule of the state by industries, was clearly at play when  RBPlat management, citing confidentiality, refused to avail their prescribed Social and Labour Plan (SLP) and their Mining Charter Score Card.  

In confrontational meetings, RBPlat strategy has been to wear out the community leaders by prolonging meetings, making insignificant concessions and unfulfilled promises. The ultimate aim by RBPlat being to cause mistrust among and between leaders, and to make the leadership lose face before its constituency. Consultations will subsequently be abandoned giving way to sustained hardships and poverty of the locals. These divisive and predatory strategies have been applied by Anglo American company and other mining companies all over the world in countries such as the DRC, Sudan and Somalia. 

In October 2010, RBPlat’s Styldrift 1 Project had its security gate house burned down and boom gates destroyed by angry communities of Chaneng, Rasimone, Mafenya and Robega for lack of consultation. The Project destroyed the communities’ farming livelihoods. 

On 26 August 2011, one community farmer lost more than 10 cattle worth more than R100 000,00. It is believed the mine instigated the loss, harassing the farmer to get him to relocate. Drilling machines were installed in front of his kraal’s gate and the loss could have been to mine induced theft. In a separate incident RBPlat’s drilling operations were conducted over an old grave. 

RBPlat’s report on local beneficiation is pathetic to say the least.  Out of a staff complement of 603 employees,   142 were migrant labour against 67 locals. The mine reserved procurement opportunities for alien companies with an excuse that ‘local companies are charging exorbitantly and need workshops on pricing’. 

The mine’s skills development programme, praised by the mine’s Human Resources Development Department, employs unaccredited service providers. 

The under-staffed Chaneng Clinic which services an ever escalating population of more than 20 000 people of Chaneng, Robega, Rasimone, Mafenya and Boshoek has become a thorny agenda item in every meeting. The clinic. which has no ambulance, has caused more than 4 deaths since January 2010. There are 2 nurses at a time and a doctor who come only on Mondays. 

Due to lack of proper housing plan/ policy by RBPlat, a lot of their contract workers rent backyard dwellings in Chaneng and Robega, increasing the uncontrollable backyard population. 

With this brutal cultural hazard perpetuated, the final death knell to what was once a peaceful Chaneng village, will come in 2016 when new nearby mining developments by Wesizwe/ PTM’s Meseve JV Project, Styldrift 1 & 2 and Impala Platinum’s 17 & 18 become fully operational. 

RBPlat and its partners, Anglo Platinum, are comfortable to shift their social labour costs onto government and into the community. These costs include road damage, destruction and occupation of grazing land, increased air and noise pollution, increased informal settlements, inadequate health care systems, and cracking houses caused by mine blasting. By any means necessary, the mine will soon, with the help of government and the Bafokeng tribal authority, own the village, at no cost.

 The situation is no different from the Palestine/Israeli dispute over the occupied Palestine land by the powerful minority settler Israeli Jewish state. The minority Chaneng community will soon become prisoners in their own land, occupied by the majority, more powerful, affluent,  settler mine labour. This system is cleverly orchestrated by Anglo Platinum, a subsidiary of Anglo American PLC, who are in partnership with RBPlat.

The fact is that communities’ rights are undermined by government, who work in cahoots with the mining companies. The Chaneng community, instead of reaping its platinum mineral wealth, will instead remain a poor, slave labour reserve for the mining companies.

In the meantime, the community of Chaneng has called on MEC Paul Sebego, Mayor of the Rustenburg Local Municipality, Mpho Khunou, and Ward Councillor Michael Mhlungu to press for a policy on ‘free, prior and informed consent’ for the communities. Such intervention resonates with the ANC Youth League’s call for nationalization of mines and its ‘economic freedom in our lifetime’ campaign.

Request for Funding: Trip to the Cop 17 Durban Conference, Nov-Dec 2011

BLBA would like to participate in the coming Cop 17 Durban Conference in Nov-Dec 2011. We appeal to all to help the Association make the trip to Durban to advocate for sustainable development and corporate accountability. Mining in Rustenburg is not only a hazard to human health, it is a permanent danger to our ecosytem. We would be happy to foward the 'Application letter for funding' should there be interested takers. Only persons/companies with a reputable Corporate Social Accountability scorecard may submit their show of interest. 

Chaneng's Styldrift Project/ Royal Bafokeng Platinum lie exposed

The last paragraph at 6.1 (page 32) of the Styldrift Project's Environmental Management Programme Report states that the Royal Bafokeng Platinum-owned Styldrift Project in Chaneng village will not alter the community's cultural identity.
We have seen, contrary to the Report, violent protest by the community, alleging that contractors employed by the mine are bussing in migrant labour during the night into the village. The new migrant labour is paid 'sleepout' housing allowance by the mines which they (mine employees) use to rent backyard dwellings in the nearby village, the Chaneng village. As recorded in Bleskop, Thekwana and Luka villages, it is expected that the migrant mine employees will within five years outgrow the host village population.

'The mine itself is not providing any additional utilities to the area. The mine is shying away from improving and developing the local health infrastracture, schools and security systems. The village will soon experience water,sanitation and waste management problems with the increased population. Soon Chaneng will be no different from Diepsloot and Alexandra',  warned Chris Senne, the Chaneng community activist.

BLBA Annual Reports for the year 2010/11

The Bafokeng Land Buyers' Association held their Annual General Meeting at Mokgatlhe Lodge on the 28th August 2011. Here are the Chairperson's and the Secretary's 2010/11 Reports.

Temporary justice not celebrated in Chaneng and Robega

-by Joseph Magobe

On Monday of 25 July 2011 the Chaneng and Robega human rights activists while waiting to be tried at the Tlhabane Magistrate Court, were shocked by the prosecutor’s announcement that their case has been “withdrawn”.

The accused had been waiting for 10 months to vindicate themselves as the case had been constantly remanded on account that “the State is still investigating”.

On 18 June, probably due to high stress levels caused by heavily armed police arrest, court proceedings, pains and illness, Kgomotso Rammutla was buried. The death of this young heroine invigorated Chaneng Youth Organisation to reaffirm their march against economic and environmental injustices, and their continued support for the human rights activists’ trial.

Kgomotso was one of the eight accused of public violence of 08 October 2010. She died untimely without tasting ‘freedom’, which has not been realized. ‘It could have been better if she died not a crime suspect’, sobbed a mourner.

Unfortunately the reasons for the 08 October 2010 protest have not been resolved and this ‘begs for no question that more revolutionary action by Macharora is coming’.

Update on the Mafikeng High Court case 999/08

All Respondents but the Baphiring Community have finally submitted their Answering papers, opposing the Bafokeng chief’s Application to have the land transferred and registered in Royal Bafokeng Nation’s title. Due to the passing of their legal representative Durkje Gilfillan, the legal guru who pioneered the current Bafokeng communities’ land claims, the Baphiring have had to reconstitute their legal team. They are expected to file their papers soon.

Copies of the communities’ Opposing papers can be accessed at www.bafokeng-communities.blogspot.com.

The Bafokeng chief’s failed 2020 Vision under the spotlight

-Writes Thusi Rapoo 

Many of the ‘Bafokeng’ communities that bought land from the boers in the mid 19^th century had two common objectives in mind, to steer off white oppression and to provide for their livelihoods using their indigenous traditional systems practiced at the time.

The current Bafokeng chief’s determination to destroy Bafokeng communities’ traditional systems has been questioned. Who has given him authority to corporatize and urbanize the Bafokeng? Who is actually ill-advising him?

The Bafokeng communities are rural ‘communist’ settlements, peaceful, united, with no need for the chief’s urbanization programmes. Millions of rands have been spend and wasted on the failed 2020 vision, the utopian Bafokeng Master Plan and now the distant 2035 Plan which only seeks to shift goal posts further away from beneficiation. The plans are likely to create dual economies for the haves and the have-nots within the Rustenburg-Bafokeng region, with the former, a small minority of crooked local elites, earmarked to be the ultimate beneficiaries of the Bafokeng accumulated R30billion wealth.

Chaneng activist Joseph Magobe summed it well that ‘the corporatization and urbanization of the Bafokeng into a cold capitalist machine at the expense of the poor and their local indigenous knowledge systems will bear devastating effects to local livelihoods. We have said before that if the chief was elected and not born, he would not have been re-elected on account of poor performance, wasteful spending, condonation of ecocidal practices by foreign multinational companies, disgraceful ignorance on the importance of green economy, poor economic and political foresight, lack of service delivery, western tendencies, and his dictatorial and indifferent Khama/Mangope/PW Botha style of leadership’.

Some people are adamant that the Bafokeng chief’s leadership is reckless and irresponsible, and could be charged and disposed in the court of law for violating (customary) laws.

 ‘Who wants 2035 when most of the concerned Bafokeng elderly would already be dead by 2020?’ Pointing to Ms Gillian Kettaneh and Nial Caroll in the Bafokeng report, Magobe lamented, ‘ comrades… 2020 Vision, the Masterplan, 2035 Plan are simply the World Bank’s grand plan to keep us quite and waiting while they loot our platinum wealth. The poor kaffir kaptein is most probably not even aware of it!’

Alienation of the disputed Bafokeng Communities’ land by the Royal Bafokeng Nation

The Bafokeng Land Buyers’ Association is concerned about the continued illegal alienation of disputed land by the Bafokeng tribal authority (alias Royal Bafokeng Nation) with the blessing of both the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform and the Minister of Local Government and Traditional Affairs. The land in question is in dispute in the ongoing legal cases at the Mafikeng High Court and the Land Claims Court.

‘The implication is that all productive claimed land under dispute will be alienated to whoever wants it without the claimants’ consent’, said Lucas Mekgwe, chairperson of the Bafokeng Land Buyers’ Association. He cautioned that as parties to the legal dispute in Mafikeng, ‘the State, who is also the titleholder of the claimed land should be subpoenaed before the Courts for the deliberate flaunting of the claimants’ constitutional rights to land restitution and just administration’.

Tshasa August 2011 is out

Your Tshasa August 2011 is out. It is a compilation of articles that appears on http://www.bafokeng-communities.blogspot.com/.