[miningmx.com] — Johannesburg – The National Union of Mineworkers (Num) appealed to the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday to hand over a donation from Aurora Empowerment Systems director Khulubuse Zuma to “the destitute Aurora workers”.
“Over 2 000 workers remain unpaid at Aurora’s Orkney mine for a period of over two years whilst the fat cat itself (sic) moves around with expensive, luxurious vehicles and has a nerve to donate some of his excesses whilst poor workers starve at his mines,” said Num spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka.
“The Num has noted with disgust media reports that… Khulubuse Zuma has pledged or donated R1m to the African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal.
“We appeal to his conscience to ensure that those Aurora workers are paid as soon as possible.”
The Freedom Front Plus on Monday said the donation was “scandalous”.
Trade union Solidarity last week said one of its members, who was employed by Aurora, committed suicide by drinking ant poison because he had lost all his belongings after being owed R170 000 in outstanding wages.
Solidarity has already sent Aurora two sets of letters of demand for arrears in salaries exceeding R4.6m.
One of the joint Pamodzi Gold liquidators, Enver Motala, said Aurora had been warned to produce proof of irreversible financial commitment by a Chinese company or face the cancellation of its bid for Pamodzi by the end of May.
Last year, Aurora announced it had secured enough funding to buy Pamodzi’s Grootvlei (Springs) and Orkney mines, which at that stage employed about 5 000 workers, from its liquidators.
But red tape and empty promises left the miners unpaid, while operations at the mines ground to a halt.
The politically-connected Aurora Empowerment Systems – whose directors include former president Nelson Mandela’s grandson Zondwa and President Jacob Zuma’s nephew Khulubuse – has been given until August by the High Court in Pretoria to obtain financing for the Pamodzi gold mining group’s Grootvlei and Orkney Mines on the East Rand.
