Phola residents say mining has brought misery not benefits

A man walks through a field littered with rubbish back towards the township of Phola. In the background is Eskom’s Kendal Power Station which is fed with coal mined from the area.

Samuel Mafulako fears for the life of his family. The father of four worries that one day the walls of his home will collapse on his children and cause serious injury or worse. Mafulako lives in a modest brick home across the road from a newly opened coal mine near the township of Phola in Mpumalanga.

Rock blasting at the nearby mine, an almost daily occurrence according to residents, rattles the foundations of his home. Recently, he has had to install metal beams in order to reinforce the home’s structure in order to mitigate against further damage.

“I would prefer to relocate to a safer area as I don’t think this house is strong enough to withstand more of this blasting. There is also a problem of dust from the blasting that covers everything. It is frightening for the children,” said Mafulako.

Samuel Mafulako stands outside his home. To the right in the background is the coal mine where blasting takes place.

Complaints about structural damage to homes from nearby mine blasting are common cause among residents of Phola. The township is surrounded by massive coal mines which feed the nearby Kendal and Kusile power stations.

Huge cracks can be seen on some houses and community activists have questioned the structural integrity and safety of living in these homes.

Residents also complain about pollution. Huge plumes of fine dust blown in from nearby mines combined with black coal dust kicked up by the constant flow of coal trucks make for a toxic environment. The emissions from the nearby coal fired power stations add to the polluted air which residents say is affecting their health.

Black coal dust covers a portion of the land in a settlement near the Kendal Power Station in Mpumalanga.

Phola sits in the shadow of the Kendal Power Station which was historically one of the country’s biggest polluters. In 2020, Eskom was criminally charged for contravening South Africa’s air quality legislation with regards to Kendal. While some steps have been made to rectify the power plants emission issues it still exceeds the legal Minimum Emission Standard.

A 2017 report by the Centre for Environmental Rights on air pollution in the Mpumalanga Highveld indicated that about 210 deaths per year could be attributed to pollution from the Kendal Power Station.

A giant mine dump from a nearby coal mine (right) sits next to a section of the growing township of Phola.

From left, Andrino Malapane, Mduduzi Matshia and Thabiso Mthimunye are all 27 years old, were born and raised in Phola, and are all unemployed.

Andrino Malapane, Mduduzi Matshia and Thabiso Mthimunye are all 27 years old and were born and raised in Phola. All three are unemployed and are pessimistic about their future.

“We are really struggling. We are surrounded by these mines but we don’t get any jobs. We don’t have hope for the future,” said Mthimunye.

His friends echoed his sentiments, saying that the mining companies make no effort to incorporate young people and do not provide any skills development.

The unemployment rate, using the expanded definition, for Mpumalanga is 49%.

Siblings Thokozani Mabuza (left) and Nhlanhla Mabuza have joined Mining Affected Communities United in Action to fight for the rights of their community.

Nhlanhla Mabuza, 31, an activist with Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), described the pervasive youth unemployment issue as depressing.

“People at our age should have jobs so that we can live our own lives, have our own homes and look after our children. But we can’t, we are still living with our parents because we can’t afford rent and food,” said Mabuza.

She said she doesn’t blame large sections of the youth in Phola who have resorted to abusing alcohol and drugs because of the despondency among young people.

A crack splits a home in half. Some activists have raised questions about the structural integrity and safety of some homes in the area.

A home in Phola with a cracked wall which residents blame on blasting by the mines nearby.

Local youth activist Nkosana Mavuso runs a podcast where he raises awareness about the number of suicides in Phola. He says that a combination of factors like unemployment, poverty and depression are all contributing to suicide in the township.

“I would say it’s mostly young men between the ages of 18 and 35 who are taking their own lives. There are also cases of abuse of children because parents have anger issues because they are not working. Poverty is a major issue, some children only eat one meal a day that they receive at school,” said Mavuso.

A warning sign indicating that blasting will be taking place in the area.

Pastor Vusi Mabena rests with his feet in a bucket of water. He says despite all the mining activity in the area there is a lack of development in the township.

Pastor Vusi Mabena sits in his home with his feet resting in a bucket of water to help with the pain caused by diabetes. Mabena has lived in Phola since 1970 and worked in the coal mines for almost three decades.

He lamented the lack of development in Phola saying that the community does not see the benefits from the surrounding mining activity.

“The mines are making a lot of money but as a community we benefit nothing at the end of the day. We are always complaining but no one takes our complaints seriously,” said Mabena.

Grade 2 learner Mbongeni Mgidi takes a break from playing with his friends in the streets. A coal mine is located one street away and parents have raised concerns over the health of their children due to the dust and air pollution in the area. Raw untreated sewage flows through the streets of Phola.

In April, community members from Phola protested outside the head office of Seriti, the major coal miner in the area, raising the communities grievances. Magnificent Mndebele, head of media and communications at MACUA, said that subsequent meetings with Seriti had left the community deeply frustrated.

“The community feels their concerns have been met with vague, dismissive statements, and that Seriti is more concerned with maintaining its public image than addressing the real challenges faced by the community. These half-hearted responses only reinforce the belief that the community’s voices are not being taken seriously, leaving many critical issues unresolved,” said Mndebele.

A pig scavenges through uncollected rubbish against a backdrop of a huge mine dump from the nearby coal mine.

Seriti replied via R&A Strategic Communications consultancy. It said the company had “an established complaints and grievances procedure that includes structural assessments of the affected dwellings and the repair thereof. Households that registered complaints have been visited, and structural assessments conducted and remedial action has been effected.”

It said: “Seriti has in the current financial year invested and handed over critical community infrastructure projects that aim to improve the quality of life whilst creating employment and creating business opportunities for locals.”

It said it had contributed to the repair of high mast lights and the installation of solar high mast lights and bus shelters, and donated 16 vehicles to SAPS, four of which were allocated to Phola and Ogies.

It said the company had “created over 800 employment and over 50 business opportunities for locals through our business partners in the last three years”.

“Seriti has actively engaged in addressing skills development concerns in Phola and Ogies with the communities.” It said it had conducted skills training programmes for the youth, “aiming to equip them with the competencies needed in various industries, including mining, engineering, and artisanal skills.”

It said it had invested in non-mining skills programmes aimed at assisting unemployed youth who may not want to venture into mining, with training in code 10 drivers licenses, brick laying, fire fighting, farming and electrical work.

Youngsters in Phola using a public WiFi spot that was installed by mining company Seriti in the township to give residents free internet access.

A truck carrying coal kicks up huge plumes of black dust as it moves through the area.

A truck transports a load of coal at a nearby mine.

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