Illegal sand mining is crippling sugar cane farmers

Armed illegal sand miners along the Komati River in Mpumalanga have become a law unto themselves, with farmers and authorities powerless to prevent rampant theft.

- Lindi Botha

Attempts to stop the sand removal have resulted in safety threats by brazen thieves. The sand removal is crippling sugar cane farmers, whose irrigation pumps no longer reach the water.

“Sand theft is so rampant that the water level has dropped drastically, and in some places, the flow of the river has been changed, diverting water away from farms,” said Cobus Botha, a farmer in Onderberg, Mpumalanga.

GETTING WORSE

He told Farmer's Weekly that the problem had persisted for years, but despite numerous reports to the authorities, the illegal mining was only getting worse. “We have reported it to the police and the Green Scorpions, but don’t get any response.”

Another farmer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that it appeared that authorities were either paid or threatened to look the other way. “The authorities seem afraid to take on the miners.”