Abstract
For a long time in the industrial configuration of Southern Africa, many South African neighbouring countries have been popularly known as the labour reserve economy for South African mines—and other industries. However, after the 1990s, employment opportunities for many in the mines started to decline as many mineworkers were retrenched. This led to declining means of livelihoods for many rural households in the region. The rural production shifted towards informal income activities that include zama zama or illegal mining. The significance of zama zama has increased, and most of the illegal mineworkers are unemployed South Africans, and those from the neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. With these groups coming together to work on disused gold mines, their interactions are often marred with conflicts, violence and killings in some cases. Looking at the case of Basotho illegal migrant mineworkers, this chapter explores the relationship between zama zama, conflict, mobility, turf wars and violence in disused gold mines in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The chapter further demonstrates the conflicts between different groups of Basotho illegal migrant mineworkers in underground, disused mines in a foreign country, South Africa. This chapter draws from the author’s doctoral thesis, extant literature and the researcher’s observations and experience in the study of unlicensed artisanal diamond mining in the highlands of Lesotho.
Parts of this chapter are taken from my dissertation, Makhetha, E. 2017. Small-scale artisanal diamond mining and rural livelihood diversification inLesotho. PhD Thesis, University of Pretoria. Available online: https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/62649/Makhetha_Small_2017.pdf
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
A popular form of accordion music that blends storytelling, spoken word and rapid-fire rap styles to reflect the lives of Basotho (Monaheng 2014). Lesotho’s traditional music is referred to as famo (from ho re famo, meaning to flare one’s nostrils) or ’mino oa koriana (accordion music) (Monaheng 2014). The story of Lesotho’s traditional music has its roots in a community dating back to the late 1800s, which spawned the songs of li tsamaea-naha—the migrant labourers who journeyed for days on foot to work in the mines in South Africa. The men would compose songs during their migration about everything from love interests to the hardships of life. The freestyle traditions of that era are still closely guarded by contemporary musicians in Lesotho (Monaheng 2014). https://www.news24.com/Archives/City-Press/Accordion-cowboys-20150430 (accessed 26 September 2018).
- 2.
http://sundaypress.co.ls/?p=7499#sthash.e1pI5wQB.dpuf (accessed 13 May 2014).
- 3.
http://sundaypress.co.ls/?p=7499#sthash.e1pI5wQB.dpuf (accessed 13 May 2014).
- 4.
Lesotho Mining and Minerals Policy Green Paper, www.ls.undp.org (2014, December 16).
- 5.
https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/gauteng/zama-zama-turf-war-fears-after-7-bodies-found-in-veld-12727076 (accessed 18 September 2018).
https://www.iol.co.za/the-star/news/six-foreigners-arrested-for-zama-zama-murders-in-ekurhuleni-18753902, (accessed 16 March 2019).
References
Ambrose, D. (2004). Lesotho annotated bibliography section 16: Mining, Kimberlite and diamonds. House 9 Publications: National University of Lesotho.
Amin, S. (1973). Neo-colonialism in West Africa. Middlesex: Penguin.
Banchirigah, S. M. (2008). Challenges with eradicating illegal mining in Ghana: A perspective from the grassroots. Resource Policy, 33, 29–38.
Benya, A. (2016). Women in mining: Occupational culture and gendered identities in the making. PhD thesis, University of the Witwatersrand.
Boehm, C. (2003). The social life of fields: Labour markets and agrarian change in Lesotho. Journal for Interdisciplinary and Cross-Cultural Studies, 3, 1–20.
Canel, E., Idemudia, U., & North, L. L. (2010). Rethinking extractive industry: Regulation, dispossession, and emerging claims. Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 30(1–2), 5–25.
Central Bank of Lesotho (2011). March quarterly review (Vol. XXXI, Issue 1). Maseru: Central Bank of Lesotho.
Chamber of Mines of South Africa. (2013). Annual report 2013/2014.
Chefa, L. (2014). Ownership of mineral rights in Lesotho. http://www.academia.edu/11032659/Ownership_of_Extractive_Operations_in_Lesot-ho. Accessed 15 May 2015.
Crush, J., Dodson, B., Gay, J., Green, T., & Leduka, C. (2010). Migration, remittances, and development in Lesotho. Southern African Migration Programme (SAMP).
Feinstein, C. H. (2005). An economic history of South Africa: Conquest, discrimination, and development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ferguson, J. (1990). The anti-politics machine: Development, depoliticization, and bureaucratic power in Lesotho. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Geenen, S. (2012). A dangerous bet: The challenge of formalizing artisanal mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Resources Policy, 37(3), 322–330.
Hart, M. 2013. Gold: The race for the world’s most seductive metal. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Hentschel, T., Hruschka, F., & Priester, M. (2002). Global report on artisanal & small-scale mining. Mining, minerals and sustainable development (MMSD). Project 70.
Hilson, G., & Potter, C. (2003). Why is illegal mining activity so ubiquitous in rural Ghana? African Development Review, 15(2–3), 237–270.
Ledwaba, P. F. (2017). The status of artisanal and small-scale mining sector in South Africa: Tracking progress. The Journal of Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 117, 33–40.
Love, R. (1996). Lesotho: Inner to outer periphery? Review of African Political Economy, 23(6), 75–80.
Makhetha, E. (2017a). Small-scale artisanal diamond mining and rural livelihood diversification in Lesotho. PhD thesis, University of Pretoria.
Makhetha, E. (2017b). The rise and fall of Liqhobong Diamond Mine Cooperative in Lesotho. Journal Anthropology Southern Africa, 40(3), 185–196.
Maleleka, D. (2007). The evolution of diamond mining in Lesotho. Southern Africa Resource Watch.
Molosankwe, B. (2019). Six foreigners arrested for zama zama murders in Ekurhuleni. https://www.iol.co.za/the-star/news/six-foreigners-arrested-for-zama-zama-murders-in-ekurhuleni-18753902. Accessed 16 Mar 2019.
Monaheng, T. (2014). Accordion cowboys. https://www.news24.com/Archives/City-Press/Accordion-cowboys-20150430. Accessed 26 Sept 2018.
Munakamwe, J. (2016). The informalisation of work: Illegal and informal mining from a gender perspective. African Centre for Migration and Society. University of Witwatersrand.
Murray, C. (1980). Families divided. The impact of migrant labour in Lesotho. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nhlengetwa, K., & Hein, K. A. A. (2015). Zama-Zama mining in the Durban Deep/Roodepoort area of Johannesburg, South Africa: An invasive or alternative livelihood? The Extractive Industries and Society, 2, 1–3.
Nsereko, D. D. N. (1997). When crime crosses borders: A Southern African perspective. Journal of African Law, 41, 192–200.
Nshimbi, C. C., & Fioramonti, L. (2014). The will to integrate: South Africa’s responses to regional migration from the SADC region. African Development Review, 26(S1), 52–63.
Nyoni, P. (2017). Unsung heroes? An anthropological approach into the experiences of zama zamas’ in Johannesburg, South Africa. In A. Nhemachena & V. W. Tapiwa (Eds.), Mining Africa: Law, environment, society and politics in historical and multidisciplinary perspectives. Bamenda: Langaa RPCIG.
Olalde, M. (2016). SA’s failed system of mine closure. https://www.iol.co.za/news/opinion/sas-failed-system-of-mine-closure-7117963. Accessed 1 Nov 2018.
Olalde, M. (2017). South Africa: A minefield of hope....and violence. https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/south-africa-minefield-hopeand-violence. Accessed 1 Nov 2018.
Pitt, C. (2018). 4 women killed in suspected East Rand zama zama turf war. https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/4-women-killed-in-suspected-east-rand-zama-zama-turf-war-20180119. Accessed 26 Sept 2018.
Pule, N. W., & Thabane, M. (2004). Lesotho’s land tenure regimes: Experiences of rural communities and the calls for land reform. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 42(2), 283–303.
Stevens, R. P. (1967). Lesotho, Botswana, & Swaziland: The former high commission territories in southern Africa. London: Pall Mall Press.
Thabane, M. (1995). Individual diamond digging in Lesotho, 1995–1970: A study of an aspect of the social and economic history of Lesotho. Ph.D. thesis, University of Trondheim.
Thabane, M. (2000). Liphokojoe of Kao: A study of a diamond digger rebel group in the Lesotho highlands. Journal of Southern African Studies, 26(01), 105–121.
Thabane, M. (2002). Aspects of colonial economy and society, 1868-1966. In N.W. Pule & M. Thabane (Eds.), Essays on aspects of the political economy of Lesotho 1500-2000 (pp. 1–14). Department of History: National University of Lesotho.
Theal, G. M. (2002). Basutoland records: Volume VI, 1871-1872. Roma: Institute of Southern African Studies.
Thebe, V., & Rakotje, M. F. (2013). Land strategies and livelihood dynamics in peri-urban communities: Challenges of land and agricultural policy in Lesotho. African Studies, 72(3), 400–415.
Thelwell, E. (2014). Six things to know about the illegal mining boom. https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Six-things-to-know-about-the-illegal-mining-boom-20140626. Accessed 27 Sept 2018.
Thornton, R. (2014). Zama Zama, “illegal” artisanal miners, misrepresented by the South African Press and Government. The Extractive Industries and Society, 1, 127–129.
Turner, S. D. (2005). Livelihoods and sharing: Trends in a Lesotho village, 1976-2004. Programme for land and agrarian studies. School of Government. University of the Western Cape, Cape Town.
Wilson, L. (2018). Unshackling South African artisanal miners: Considering Burkina Faso’s legislative provisions as a guideline for legalisation and regulation. Master’s thesis, University of Cape Town.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Makhetha, E. (2020). Basotho Mineworkers and zama zama in Disused Commercial Gold Mines in Gauteng Province, South Africa. In: Nshimbi, C., Moyo, I. (eds) Borders, Mobility, Regional Integration and Development. Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42890-7_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42890-7_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-42889-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-42890-7
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)