By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Minister of Police Professor Firoz Cachalia and Premier of the North West province, Lazarus Kagiso Mokgosi Acting are visiting the local tribal council in Bapong village near Brits in Madibeng Local Municipality.
The area has been in the news due to a surge in illegal mining activities, with 21 suspected illegal miners have been arrested since last week.
Heavy machinery has since been seized and removed from the site as police continue to follow all possible leads in identifying the masterminds behind these operations.
The National Commissioner of Police, General Fannie Masemola, as well as the Acting Provincial Commissioner, Major General (Dr) Ryno Naidoo will also be in attendance.
The visit forms part of government’s ongoing efforts to find a lasting solution to illegal mining activities in Bapong and surrounding areas by engaging various stakeholders and in this regard, the Bapo Ba Mogale Traditional Council.
Bapong is the latest flashpoint for illegal mining, where residents complained of sinkholes, cracked homes and disappearing roads due to illegal underground mining, this time for chrome and platinum.
Masemola declared a zero-tolerance approach to illegal mining.
“We are enhancing and heightening our crime combating operations to deal decisively with these illegal mining activities,” he said. “We are deploying more police officers on the ground such as crime intelligence officers, members of the Hawks, detectives and tactical units to prevent and combat these illegal mining activities.”
“We are continuing with our disruptive operations and where necessary we will continue to effect the necessary arrests and conduct search and seizure operations of tools and resources that are being used to conduct these illegal mining activities,” said Masemola.
A multi-disciplinary team from minerals, water, home affairs and justice has been set up to support on-the-ground police work involving daily operations to monitor and disrupt illegal mining.