Rustenburg - Government does not understand the cause of violent crime in the mining sector, the Democratic Alliance said on Wednesday.
MP Sej Motau said this was underscored by remarks from national police commissioner Riah Phiyega at the launch of a mine crime combating forum in Rustenburg.
She said union rivalry should not be blamed for violent crime in the mining sector.
Motau said Phiyega ignored the fact that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), the biggest union in the Rustenburg platinum mines, had rejected the mining framework brokered by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Phiyega told a gathering at the launch of the forum on Wednesday that killings should not be linked to the rivalry between Amcu and the National Union of mineworkers (NUM).
Motau said in a statement the government should find inclusive ways to restore stability, serve justice, and heal those affected by the violence.
“Only once this happens will South Africa’s mining sector be able to prosper once again, creating jobs and uplifting the surrounding communities.”
Motau said the government had brokered two useless and ineffectual accords, and established a commission of enquiry that had failed to meet its deadlines and continued to be marred by controversy.
Most recently it had launched a policing forum that did not recognise the underlying causes of the violence. - Sapa