An excavator, digging sand in Tshiombo rural village outside Thohoyandou in an alleged illegal sand mining operation.
Image: Chris Gilili
‘Activity dries up natural water sources, erodes soil’
CHRIS GILILI
The unchecked rise of illegal sand mining in the Vhembe region of Limpopo is threatening the livelihoods of small farmers, with some shutting down their crop farming businesses.
Sandpits are a common sight in the villages of Tshiombo, Mianzwi, Tshitavha, Makonde and Tswera, posing environmental threats Despite causing soil erosion and harming the environment by increasing habitat loss, sand mining also leads to water table depletion and decreased water quality and supply.
Just like mining for minerals, sand mining also requires a special permit, but the illegal operators in Vhembe find a way to bypass the legal route.
Rabhe Mamagwa,37, a farmer at Mianzwi, has been experiencing water shortages for some years, threatening her crops and her family’s livelihood. She employs one permanent worker and about 15 seasonal workers to grow her green beans, cabbage, dry beans, sweet potato and maize. The produce is sold to local markets and to traders in Gauteng.
“We plant crops all year long, and water is continuously a struggle for us. Some people have abandoned their farms because of struggles to get water. The illegal mining of sand is affecting us as farmers because we need water for our crops. Without water we cannot farm. We plant throughout the year, and use flood irrigation to water the crops,” Mamagwa, a full-time farmer, said.
“If there is no water that means I won’t be able to plant and make money. That is going to be a problem because I am taking my siblings to school through farming and I have employees [to pay],” she told the Sowetan.
Mamagwa said sand mining affects small farm owners badly because they don’t have any solution to the water scarcity issue because by law they are not allowed to dig boreholes.
Thinandavha Mutwanamba, a community activist from Tswera village, about 25km from Thohoyandou, which is also a hotspot for illegal sand mining, criticised greed from traditional leaders as the cause for increasing illegal mining. A new sand mine has been proposed in a neighbouring village and has the endorsement of the local headman. The community is opposed to it.
“People [sand miners] want to enrich themselves at the expense of local farmers here, which is cruel. We will fight the proposed development because we know it is not for the benefit of our people. This land is everything to the subsistence farmers here, and it is our dignity. Mining sand here will devastate our lives,” said Mutwanamba.
Councillor Rolivhuwa Mbengeni of Ward 1 at Tshitavha says the proposed mine is just a dream that will never see the light of day.
A huge open pit, that has been left by illegal sand mining operations not far from the Mutale River. Image:supplied
“We have heard that they have gazetted for this new sand mine through local media without consulting our people. We don’t want a sand mine here. If they proceed without our approval, we will fight and not surrender. We won’t allow any machinery to enter our village,” Mbengeni said.
When Sowetan visited Tshiombo, huge sand mining pits could be seen lining the Mutale River. Excavators and other mining machinery were on the site. This is where huge trucks carrying heavy loads of sand daily.
Pipes meant to channel water from the river to small community farms have been cut, allegedly by miners, as they dig for sand.
Miners have also left a big pit in Makonde village, which poses danger to children and livestock.
Locals believe the illegal sand mining is driven by organised crime syndicates with ties to the government.
According to Janse Rabie, Law and Policy Executive at AgriSA, illegal sand mining is highly organised and complicated.
“Halting or preventing illegal mining is very difficult for private property owners as well as the provincial environmental authorities,” said Rabie.
“This is a significant issue for AgriSA and our provincial affiliates in Limpopo Province. We are inundated with complaints from concerned farmers about apparently unlawful mining activities across Limpopo, including the Thohoyandou area.”
He said they were also concerned about the abuse of mining permits and environmental authorisations.
“Mining permits are intended to be used for small-scale temporary mining (5 hectares and 2-year duration). However, unethical mining operations regularly apply for and are granted multiple mining permits adjacent to one another. Although this is not supposed to be allowed, it seems to be a standard way of clothing such applications with a semblance of legitimacy,” Rabie told Sowetan.
Rabhe Mamagwa from Mianzwi Village, and her younger sister standing in her farm. Image:Chris Gilili
He said urgent, concerted and centralised enforcement action, including revisiting the mining and environmental water use authorisation requirements for small-scale mining could be some of the viable solutions.
He also highlighted that the department of mineral resources does not seem to have the enforcement capacity to respond to illegal sand mining.
Magnificent Mndebele, head of communications at Mining-Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), said the department is failing to regulate sand mining.
“They have no regard at all for communities that suffer the consequences of mining. This is consistent with all kinds of mining, there are not enough policies to guard small-scale farmers. As MACUA we advocate for regulatory frameworks. The government is horrible in terms of regulation,” said Mndebele.He said it’s common practice for mining companies to co-opt traditional leaders in rural communities and use them to feed their greed.“We condemn the department for failing to regulate the sector. We will continue to build awareness for communities to know their rights,” he added.DA provincial leader Jacques Smalle said: “People will get permits for very small sections, and they will get 10 permits and join them. It becomes actual mining and doesn’t support the actual permit, that is the first problem we have. We have asked the national department to look into it. We have also asked for all the permits that have been issued to be given to us. I have written to the legislature and we are awaiting their response soon.”
