PETER BRUCE IN BUSINESS DAY: AS I write this, I am sitting on the veranda of a cottage on the Transkei Wild Coast that my grandfather built 82 years ago. My view is indescribably beautiful. But behind me there is a quiet carnage. This part of the world is reeling from the effects of the prolonged strike in the platinum mining industry. Both Allan Seccombe on the front page and Mark Barnes in his column on Monday write in more depth about it. But this is where the striking miners come from. Suddenly, there is no money. The miners are coming home. They are angry. Retailers in Transkei are losing business. Once-bustling little towns bustle less. The taxis are not quite so full. The ANC is handing out food and blankets (and T-shirts) like there is no tomorrow. People who have lived off repatriated incomes for years are leaving to seek work in the cities. They do not yet know that there is none. The effects of what now seem to be inevitable mine closures will be felt hardest here. The effect on the country should this strike not be resolved very, very quickly, will change South Africa forever.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:50:35 +0000
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