Govt, mine urged to provide shelter, food for evicted

Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) has vowed to assist the Mpumalanga families that were evicted by Seriti mine recently.

- Masoka Dube

More than 200 people from Kriel, near Middelburg, were left destitute after Seriti demolished about 60 houses belonging to the former Anglo American employees.

Some of the evicted, mostly pensioners and their families, interviewed by The Citizen said they have been staying in the houses for more than 30 years as their employer permitted them to do so. The trouble started in 2018 when Seriti bought the mine and has been trying every trick in a book to evict them.

Macua national coordinator Sabelo Mnguni said the organisation had received calls from the families seeking assistance to get their houses back or have the demolished homes rebuilt.

"Our legal team is going through the merits of the case, then we will know how we are going to fight this," said Mnguni.