{"id":858009,"date":"2026-04-24T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=858009"},"modified":"2026-04-24T09:23:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:23:45","slug":"south-africa-under-siege-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/858009\/south-africa-under-siege-2\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa under siege"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africa is under siege by far more dangerous and organised illegal mining groups than many realise, and they’re growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illegal miners, or zama zamas, are no longer desperate individuals trying to survive. They have become heavily armed syndicates, ruining a big part of South Africa\u2019s future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the feedback from De Wet du Toit of the Blyde River Task Force, who said these “mafia-style\u201d syndicates are taking over environmentally and economically critical regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are destroying environmentally and economically critical regions like Mpumalanga and areas bordering the Kruger National Park,\u201d du Toit said in an interview with BizNews<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Du Toit, these operations are enforced through violence by heavily armed groups, many of whom are foreign nationals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are heavily armed. They use small arms and sometimes even RPGs. They are a criminal group that uses violence to set down the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stressed that the brutality involved is extreme and often overlooked. \u201cThe brutality that these guys are capable of is something that\u2019s kind of hard to get your mind around. We\u2019re talking about mass killings, mass burials,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese syndicates typically involve Mozambicans, Zimbabweans, and the Basothos, with most of them, if not 99%, undocumented.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from the violence and threat to communities, Du Toit highlighted the severe environmental damage caused by illegal mining practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The widespread use of toxic chemicals is contaminating entire ecosystems. \u201cYou see the utilisation of poisons like cyanide and mercury, that\u2019s just completely unregulated and making its way into our water systems,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are in effect talking about complete water systems from source to ocean being poisoned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that the structure of these syndicates extends beyond the miners themselves. \u201cLike with any other type of syndication, you get different levels,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said these groups operate a complex network that allegedly reaches into senior political and law enforcement structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At ground level, the armed enforcers are not the masterminds but remain the most dangerous element. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s going to take years to address the problem <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite the scale of the problem, Du Toit said the state response has been inadequate. \u201cThe crisis has spiralled out of control in the last three to five years despite repeated warnings and media exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases, illegal operations have been found operating openly near police stations. \u201cOne of the first big processing sites we uncovered was within one kilometre of a police station, and they were largely left unchecked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He described law enforcement efforts as largely superficial. \u201cYou see these sporadic police operations, but they are largely window dressing exercises,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The economic impact is equally severe. Du Toit noted that they do not contribute in terms of tax, and they are taking potential jobs from our local people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For communities in affected areas, the consequences are harsh. Some residents have fled. Others have been drawn into the illicit economy, while some have paid with their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Du Toit himself acknowledged the risks faced by those confronting the syndicates. \u201cMy colleague has been shot three times. This is a violent, syndicated type of crime,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Blyde River Task Force is working to gather scientific evidence, build legal cases, and pressure authorities, Du Toit said resolving the crisis will take time and sustained effort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to take a couple of years, but we have no option. We have to protect our water. It is absolutely crucial,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africa is under siege by a far more dangerous and organised illegal mining crisis than many realise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":858012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[18849,25251,853,25250],"class_list":["post-858009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-biznews","tag-blyde-river-task-force","tag-south-africa","tag-zama-zamas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858009"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":858015,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858009\/revisions\/858015"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/858012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}