PARLIAMENT February ANA - Parliament's portfolio committee on mineral resources on Friday urged the government to intervene to ensure that workers at the Optimum coal mine are paid, adding that the owners should not be allowed to walk away unscathed after the mine went into business rescue.
The chairman of the committee, Sahlulele Lupizo, said the situation was reminiscent of the Aurora mine scandal where workers were not paid while the owners plundered the operation of its assets. The Optimum mine is owned by the Gupta family's Tegeta Exploration.
“It cannot be allowed under this government dispensation that workers are made to bear the brunt, while the owners walk away unscathed,” said Luzipo.
Luzipo said the committee was not convinced by Optimum CEO George van der Merwe's explanation about the sale of the mine to new owners.
“We call on the Department of Mineral Resources to intervene swiftly and establish with certainty the future of the mine. It should also assist in ensuring that workers are paid,” said Luzipo.
The committee has been asked to intervene by the National Union of Mineworkers, which has said workers had not been paid and would not be going back to work.
Eskom was informed on Monday that the mine had been placed in business rescue. The move comes as law enforcement agencies circle the Gupta family. Their acquisition of the mine and subsequent securing of a lucrative coal supply contract with the power utility is the subject of several investigations, including one by Parliament.
- African News Agency
