PAYCO declares a day of mourning for Marikana massacre


By Sinethemba Mandyoli    17-Aug-2012 08:30 UTC+02:00 6

Bodies of mineworkers who were shot dead by police at Marikana platinum mine. Photo: The Post

Sinethemba Mandyoli— The PAYCO in the Western Cape would like to send our deepest and sincerest condolences to the families of the mine workers that died yesterday 16 August 2012. It is our obligations as a movement to be on the side of the defenceless, poorest, and the most victimised in our society, having said that we identify the mining workers as the most abused, and defenceless workers in the whole economy of this country.

We are aware that the dust has not settled yet and a thorough investigation has not been conducted to weight the merits of the use of live ammunition by the security forces, but we categorically state it that no one even the state has the right to take another human being’s life more especially 35 people. We have been following the story for the past three days and yesterday was “the day the violence stops” as per Mrs Mbombo who was the spokesperson of the police. That statement hinted that the police had already been briefed about the possibility of killing at close range a group of un-trained civilians. The (NUM) National Union of Mine worker has appeared to have been also conspiring with the authorities when they were claiming that the union that was striking has to be de-registered and police should take action against the striking workers.

A precedent was set in the Zuma mine and police cannot in any way justify their actions. It was purely premeditated violent killing of our youth. The questions we ask ourselves range from: where was modern anti-violence technology such as water cannons, teargas and so on. Where was the Bill of rights when the police brutally reminded us of the apartheid years where a human life was and is still weighing nothing compared to the Dollar that the gold is sold to?

We urge all the people of this country to not wait for the president to declare a day of mourning for the incompetence of him and his office bearers, but to mourn and pay their respect to the fellow young and old people that died in the Marikana massacre. As we remember the lives of the fallen let us also reflect on what needs to be done, in order to intensify our struggle. It is clear that the current government is part of an on-going problem of exploitation of the African people and their resources in this country. As we are reminded of that let us draw our energy from our past victories as a people and a country.

At 3:00 pm all the people are urged to buy candles and peacefully march to the Parliament in cape Town. This is a peaceful call for a WHY march? (Who benefits, how many lives must we lose before nationalisation of the industry? Yearning for true Freedom) .

-PAYCO Western Cape



 6 Comments


  1. James says:

    You say “apartheid years where a human life was and is still weighing nothing compared to the Dollar that the gold is sold to”. It’s these fools (strikers) who started the killings. They showed that they value money more than life when they brutally hacked a cop with an axe and burned two security guards alive.

  2. The Editor says:

    The way the cops shot at them doesn’t look like self defense. They should have let the people march peacefully until their employers met them halfway.

  3. Mjongile says:

    Down with the ANC! For a Workers and Poor Farmers Government!

    The cold blooded killing of 34 miners by SAP (South African Police) at Marikana on Thursday is a deliberate warning by the ANC (African National Congress) that a militant breakaway of rank and file unions from COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions) will not be tolerated. The evidence is there that the ANC and its SACP (South African Communist Party) leadership instructed the police to ‘shoot to kill’. The global crisis has put pressure on ANC to make South African workers pay for the crisis. The militant miners are the vanguard of the proletariat and have begun to break from the Tripartite regime (ANC/SACP/COSATU).

    The militant miners were members of the AMCU (African Miners and Construction Union) a breakaway union that split from NUM (National Union of Miners) when its founding leader was disciplined by the NUM for leading a 2 week mine occupation for his reinstatement by the company. As the NUM has become more bureaucratised and oriented towards the better paid workers the AMCU has grown to represent the poorest and most militant workers.

    • Linda says:

      It is not possible for the whole of ANC/SACP to have instructed police to shoot to kill. Certain individuals may have done that so they should be dealt with individually.

  4. Mjongile says:

    I have never condoned any type of killing no matter what reasons you may have. Celebrating the death of another human being is a reflection of cannibalism from us. Section 49 of the constitution guarantees the right to life. To top it all we have the judicial system which would have guaranteed that if the miners were at wrong for asking for a raise in their salary were going to be subjected to. People like Piere De Vos (on http://www.constitutionallyspeaking.co.za blog) will argue the legal side of the issue but mine is to only unpack the political motives that the Lonmin Company (Cyril Ramaphosa’s company), NUM, ANC, and SAPS had to kill the miners.

    People don’t want to acknowledge that the COSATU affiliated unions always try by all means to discredit any other unions that oppose them. It is clear that NUM is slowly losing credibility amongst workers hence they decided to collaborate with Lonmin employers (whom by accident happened to have a 51 % share held by ANC’s Cyril Ramaphosa).

    The war in the mining is more political than we think it is. Those 10 people that died could have been avoided had the Ramaphosa’s listened to the workers’ demands. Instead they responded by murdering an extra 34 and wounding more than 70 others to balance the scales. Isn’t that ridiculous? I am not saying that the blood of the police had to be shed, as most of you think that shedding the workers’ blood was the solution. The type of violence that the hungry, and the powerless are forced to wage against each other is caused by the lack of leadership from the unions. We have the Uncle Tom type of attitude that NUM has been flaunting through as long as I can remember and lately more vigilant unions are flourishing and they represent the core issues that workers have. Yes does not justify the killing of security forces, had the workers. To me the workers deserve to be listened to even if the agreement is not reached, you cannot just take away the people’s right to strike and expect them to fold arms, worse of all you cannot think forcing people to go to work or else you expel them solves the issue. The issue in South Africa is more about the imbalance in the distribution of wealth, with the rich getting richer while the poor remain poorer.

    After some enormous pressure from the international governments your government is finally declaring this week as a week of mourning. The flags are currently flying at half-mast in all South African embassies, but what will surprise them is that solidarity marches are organised around the world to condemn the manner in which the ANC government treats its people. But we all know that, it is not enough to fly flags at half mast, pay 2 million towards people’s funerals. All the people want is an increase in their salaries so that they can support their families.

    Another thing that came out of the issue was the election of the Presidential commission of inquiry which in a way was a slap in the face of the protesters. A presidential commission will not be as effective as a judicial commission.

  5. Dude says:

    Mines should be nationalized! Ramaphosa bought a Buffalo for R18 million but he pays his employees peanuts!

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