‘Covid-19: Mining companies urged to offer community testing’ 26 October 2020

Bench Marks Foundation, the faith-based organisation which monitors corporate performance in the field of corporate social responsibility, has called on mining companies to open their health facilities to enable Covid-19 testing for mining communities. The call comes as Health Minister Zweli Mkhize warns that the country could still face a second wave in cases. Foundation chairperson Jo Seoka told the annual conference this week that according to the foundation’s records communities were witnessing between three and six unexplained deaths a week.

…Seoka said contrary to what the Minerals Council South Africa (MCSA) said, the mining sector had become the epicentre of spreading the disease in adjacent communities. “Already these communities suffer from poor nutrition, poor living conditions, lack of access to clean and potable water, and are excluded from decision making that affects their lives,” said Seoka. However, the MCSA said South Africa’s Covid-19 testing capacity had been severely constrained by the lack of availability of testing machines, testing kits and the availability of qualified staff, as had been the case in many countries around the world.

…Seoka said the Bench Marks Foundation together with other progressive civil society organisations warned in May that 50 percent of workers going back to work prematurely would lead to a wave of infections in mining-affected communities. He said in North West province, infections rose to an all-time high of about 14 000 compared to about 200 before mines reopened and with similar figures in Limpopo by mid-August and had since gone down…“The real issues among communities we work with is a lack of testing. Sadly, many mines are not prepared to go beyond the mine gate in opening their clinics for community members for treatment,” Seoka said. Seoka said the foundation had firmly stated the principle of "people first," and that economic life begins with communities.