Latest news with #DavidvanWyk
The Guardian
13-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
A robotic dog and a tribute to Colombia's cycling soul: photos of the day
Lone Wolf, a military robotic dog, entertains children at the America 250 Celebration at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville Photograph: Karl DeBlaker/AP David van Wyk, lead researcher at Bench Marks foundation, is reflected in a stream of contaminated water leaching from a mine dump at Snake Park. In South Africa, 15-20 million people live close to highly toxic substances such as arsenic, lead and the radioactive element uranium Photograph: Emmanuel Croset/AFP/Getty Images A man rides a rickshaw past fishing boats moored at a port Photograph: Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP/Getty Images A French police officer enters the sea in an attempt to prevent migrants and asylum seekers from boarding small boats. Officers used teargas and pepper spray to try to disperse hundreds of people trying to board boats, but were overwhelmed by the numbers. A record 15,000 migrants have left northern France and arrived in the UK this year Photograph:Patients lie in beds in the underground parking of the Sourasky medical centre in Tel Aviv, in readiness for retaliation from Iran after Israel's attack Photograph: Itai Ron/Reuters A jaguar bares its teeth at the Mata Ciliar association, an organisation for the conservation of biodiversity, in Jundiai. Twenty-five pumas and 10 jaguars are recovering at the Brazilian Center for the Conservation of Neotropical Felines at Mata Ciliar, a site as large as 40 football fields where monkeys, wild dogs, maned wolves, ocelots, and other regional animals are also rehabilitated Photograph: Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty Images A performer dressed as the Na Tcha deity, a character in Chinese myths and legends, prepares for the traditional celebratory feast at the temple of Na Tcha Photograph: Eduardo Leal/AFP/Getty Images A fire officer inspects the site of the Air India flight 171 crash Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters Destroyed vehicles are pictured outside a building hit by an Israeli strike. It was among 100 targets, including nuclear facilities and military command centres, struck in an attack that killed senior figures in Iran, including the armed forces chief and top nuclear scientists Photograph: Meghdad Madadi/Tasnim News/AFP/Getty Images People carry buckets of mud on their heads during the re-plastering of the Great Mosque of Djenne. Thousands of Malians converge before dawn for the annual plastering of the iconic mosque, in the world heritage-listed historical town in central Mali. First built in the 13th century before being destroyed, the mosque was completely rebuilt in 1907 and is the largest earthen monument in the world Photograph: Ousmane Makaveli/AFP/Getty Images Visitors interact with an inflatable art installation at the Euphoria Art Is in the Air exhibition at the Grand Palais d'ete Photograph: Stéphane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images Palestinians flee to the western parts of the Khan Younis after the Israeli army warned that it would launch an offensive against the centre of the city Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images A worker loads food aid in a cargo plane for delivery in Ulang and Nasir counties in Upper Nile State, which have been ravaged by fighting between militiamen and the army, in an operation run by Fogbow, a US company organising the airdrops with funding from the South Sudanese government Photograph: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters Members of the art collective Sand in your Eye take part in creating a 40m-diameter sand drawing of Ludwig van Beethoven on Elie Beach, East Neuk, to celebrate the East Neuk festival, which starts at the end of June Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA A view of the damage to a school attacked by Shahed drones Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Kenyan police look on as an assortment of 7,000 illicit firearms and small weapons, recovered during security operations in the Bulbul area of Ngong district, burn Photograph: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters An installation called The World's Largest Bicycle rises as a tribute to Colombia's cycling soul in the rolling highlands of Tinjaca Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
The Citizen
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Mining fails to deliver jobs to local communities
Despite R72 billion in profits, mining towns report extreme unemployment and missing development funds. Mining companies are failing to create jobs for the communities where they operate, recent statistics released by the organisation, Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua), indicate. These show that the unemployment rate in communities situated near the biggest mining operations is more than 65%. This means mining firms are not fulfilling their role in the Social Labour Plan (SLP) to create jobs for local communities. Mining firms not fulfilling role in SLP 'Macua is deeply alarmed but not surprised by the latest unemployment data released [last week] by Statistics SA. 'Our research confirms that unemployment in communities located next to some of the wealthiest mining operations consistently exceeds 65%, with some areas having 82% unemployment rate. ALSO READ: Here's why Amplats will still pay Anglo R1.6bn a year after unbundling 'These figures dwarf the official national average. They expose a central truth that policymakers continue to ignore – that the growth of mining profits is not translating into jobs, justice or dignity for those most impacted by the extraction,' said Macua spokesperson Magnificent Mndebele. 'Government leaders parade Operation Vulindlela and sectoral reforms as solutions to inequality and unemployment. But our audits reveal the opposite. 'The mining sector, empowered by expedited licences, deregulation and policy favouritism, has become a site of elite enrichment, not shared prosperity. Site of elite enrichment 'With record profits of over R72 billion from just 11 audited mining companies, communities have seen less than 0.13% of that reinvested in their development. 'Our audits uncovered over R284 million in missing SLP funds across 11 sites, with more than 75% of committed development projects incomplete or undocumented.' ALSO READ: SA opened 159 new mines in five years, creating over 15 000 jobs Mining expert David van Wyk said Macua's report was an accurate reflection of what is happening in the mining-affected communities. 'I fully agree with Macua – mining does not create jobs. This country needs to move up into a post-mining economy. 'On a post-mining economy, I mean that we need not export strategic minerals necessary for manufacturing, for example iron, chrome, manganese, lithium and rare earth minerals. These are all required for manufacturing in general and for batteries and AI technologies in particular.' Need for focused state and foreign investment 'Then we need focused state and a foreign investment to kickstart a manufacturing base.' 'That means moving away from the low-wage economy. We have 60 million people either on low wages or unemployed. They cannot afford manufactured goods. This is a disincentive for manufacturing.' ALSO READ: Millions unaccounted for as ex-mine bosses face court over fraud 'We could, for example, manufacture batteries and cars [not assemble foreign cars as we are doing currently] but make electric vehicles as these are replacing combustion engines globally.' Van Wyk said dying mining towns should be repurposed into suppliers of gas and solar energy using old mine electricity substations to feed solar power from mine wastelands into the national grid, and extract methane from old mine shafts. Large-scale mining in decline As large-scale mining is in decline, the state should create the conditions for artisanal, smalland medium-scale mining and facilitate community-based industries to add value to the diamonds, gold and platinum extracted, such as by jewellery manufacturing for example, he said. National Association of Artisanal Miners spokesperson Zethu Hlatshwayo said mines were not equipping people with skills. 'So mines employ people from other areas.'
