Smoke out poverty, not miners

Just over two months ago, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni was asked whether the government would send help to illegal miners "trapped underground" and out of food and water.

- Sydney Majoko

Her response resonated with many South Africans who consider themselves law-abiding citizens and have zero tolerance for criminals. "We will not send help to criminals. We will smoke them out. Criminals are not to be helped but persecuted."

Last week, the bodies of 78 dead illegal miners were brought to the surface after a court forced government's hand to bring them to the surface.

It would be simplistic to pin the deaths on Ntshavheni and the government but linking their unnecessary deaths to her utterances is not far-fetched.

The ANC has always trumpeted itself as the champion of the poor and marginalized in society. While Ntshavheni was right in that the government did not send the illegal miners down the shaft to their deaths, it is the same government that has stalled on introducing some sort of order and organization to the illegal mining sector.