Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said he was haunted by scenes of dead bodies and the devastation he witnessed at the Angelo informal settlement following the death of at least 17 people who inhaled a poisonous gas.
Lesufi has returned to the scene on Thursday morning, after rushing to the area on Wednesday night following the news of the tragedy.
Illegal miners, commonly referred to as zama zamas, allegedly got their hands on a nitrate oxide gas tank which they intended to use in their illegal mining activities. The poisonous gas was what allegedly killed the community members.
Lesufi said the current law enforcement strategies were archaic.
“We are under siege. We are using outdated law enforcement mechanisms in a new era that needs new forms of law enforcement. People are saying bring the army,” Lesufi said, addressing local and international media gathered at the Angelo informal settlement.
“The process of bringing the army in this country is prolonged - the president must announce, must go to Cabinet, opposition parties must comment, the budget must be approved, and when they come they must escort police.
“We just have to overhaul our law enforcement response. This thing of illegal mining is out of control. I share your frustration, actually I am frustrated. We just need a specialised way of training our law enforcement. They do try,” he said.
Lesufi said it was disturbing how illegal mining has festered in a community occupied by residents.
“People were doing an illegal activity here, not in a secluded area but in the middle of where people stay. I don’t think that we should have encouraged that. That is why I am saying, the law enforcement, the people that are involved - we should have stopped that.
“I do not want to apportion blame, I do not want to hide behind a broomstick as government. We have a responsibility that we should shoulder. Law enforcement is the only sector that can assist us to make sure that we push back these kinds of activities. And I can tell you, we need fire power,” Lesufi said.
He said curbing the runaway crime across Gauteng requires an overhaul of the current outdated crime-combating strategies.
“This situation has gone beyond the capacity of the resources that we have. We need a new thinking, and I have said this before – we just have to overhaul our law enforcement strategies in dealing with these zama zamas,” said Lesufi.
Earlier, Gauteng police said a one-year-old baby is among the at least 17 people who have been confirmed dead at the Angelo informal settlement, in Boksburg, following nitrate oxide inhalation believed to be associated with illegal mining activities in the area.
Police spokesperson, Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said three children are among the dead.
IOL