Mining Affected Communities United in Action

MACUA is a community-based, united front of mining-affected communities in South Africa with branches across the country. Nothing About Us Without Us!

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

Voices of the people. Power in unity. Together we are MACUA — building justice for mining-affected communities.#nodecisionaboutuswithoutus #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

📘 NEW PUBLICATION | RENEWING INJUSTICE: The Human Cost of the Energy Transition ✊🏾⚡🌍As the world races toward a renewable energy future, an important question remains: Who is paying the price for the minerals needed to power that transition?MACUA leaders and mining-affected communities have contributed their voices and lived experiences to the newly released report, Renewing Injustice, published by ActionAid and Milieudefensie. The report exposes how the global demand for critical minerals is intensifying pressure on communities in the Global South, often reproducing the same patterns of dispossession, environmental destruction, exclusion, and inequality that have defined extractive industries for generations.For mining-affected communities across South Africa, this is not a theoretical debate. It is about land, water, livelihoods, health, and the right of communities to participate in decisions that shape their future.The report reinforces what MACUA, WAMUA, and YAMUA have consistently argued: there can be no Just Energy Transition without justice for mining-affected communities. A transition that sacrifices communities in the name of green development is not just—it is simply a new form of extraction.📖 We encourage all activists, community leaders, policymakers, and allies to read this important publication and join the growing call for a people-centred energy transition that respects human rights, environmental justice, and community consent.Nothing About Us Without Us! ✊🏾❤️💚#RenewingInjustice #JustEnergyTransition #ClimateJustice #MiningAffectedCommunities #MACUA #WAMUA #YAMUA #CriticalMinerals #EnvironmentalJustice #NothingAboutUsWithoutUsPublication

link: https://t.co/LErhVOiJGn

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

🔥 A UNITED COMMUNITY CANNOT BE SILENCED 🔥

Theunissen residents came out in large numbers today to defend their right to participate in decisions that affect their lives and future.

The march brought together workers, women, youth, elders, and community activists under one banner: the demand for justice, accountability, and meaningful community participation.

As communities across South Africa continue to face exclusion from development and resource governance processes, Theunissen has shown that organised people remain the strongest force for change.

Their message was simple but powerful:

We are here. We are organised. We will be heard.

✊🏾 MACUA | WAMUA | YAMUA
#TheunissenMarch #CommunityResistance #MiningAffectedCommunities #PeoplePower #SocialJustice #EnvironmentalJustice #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

The DMPR says it should be viewed as an "economic department" rather than merely a regulator.

Meanwhile, mining-affected communities are still waiting for answers on failed SLP commitments, environmental damage, abandoned mines and the MPRDA Amendment Bill.

MACUA is calling for accountability, transparency and meaningful public participation.

#MACUA #MiningJustice #MPRDA #SLPs #EnvironmentalJustice

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

South Africans are suffering from unemployment, corruption, inequality and failed development. But division, fear and scapegoating will not rebuild our communities.

MACUA believes that real solutions require jobs, accountability, community unity and mining wealth that benefits the people, not politics that divide poor and vulnerable communities against one another.

Strong communities are built through dignity, justice and solidarity.

#SolidarityNotXenophobia #MACUA #JusticeForAll #CommunityJustice #MiningCommunities #StopTheDivision #EconomicJustice #SouthAfrica

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

Real change comes when communities organise for accountability, dignity and economic justice. Together, people have the power to rebuild South Africa from below.

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

Fear and hatred trap communities in permanent conflict. Hope, organisation and solidarity create the foundation for safer communities, stronger local economies and lasting justice.

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

South Africa can only move forward through solidarity, justice and shared development. Organised communities are stronger when they work together for dignity, opportunity and a better future.

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

Communities need solutions, not political opportunism. Leadership should unite people around jobs, safety, accountability and development, not exploit suffering through fear and division.

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

The greatest theft from poor communities is corruption, failed governance and looted public resources. South Africans deserve leaders who build communities instead of dividing them through fear and scapegoating.

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

Mining communities continue to suffer while enormous wealth leaves our towns and villages. Communities deserve jobs, development, environmental justice and a fair share of the wealth beneath their feet.

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

No society becomes stronger through violence, fear or humiliation. South Africa must reject politics that divide vulnerable people and instead build communities rooted in dignity, humanity and justice.

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

People deserve safe communities, fair opportunities and functioning services. The answer is not fear and division. The answer is accountable governance, fair local economies and community-driven development.

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

When poor and working-class communities fight each other, corruption and exploitation continue untouched. Real power comes from organised, united communities demanding justice, jobs and dignity for all.

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

Communities are tired of unemployment, corruption and broken promises. But blaming vulnerable people will not create jobs or rebuild our towns. South Africa needs real development, accountable leadership and mining wealth that benefits the people.

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

Stilfontein was not an isolated tragedy. It was a warning. For years, political leaders and sections of the media have normalised fear, scapegoating and xenophobic rhetoric while communities continue to suffer unemployment, corruption, inequality and failed development.
When vulnerable people are repeatedly framed as “illegal,” “criminal” or a threat, society slowly becomes conditioned to accept violence, exclusion and dehumanisation.
South Africa cannot rebuild itself through division.
Communities deserve jobs, dignity, safety, accountable governance and development — not politics that redirect anger toward the poor and vulnerable while corruption and exploitation continue unchecked.
Read and share our latest Op-Ed: https://t.co/mv7zwo2jUC
#Stilfontein #Xenophobia #MACUA #CommunityJustice #MiningCommunities #SocialJustice #StopTheDivision #EconomicJustice #SouthAfrica

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

South Africa is facing a dangerous rise in xenophobia, division and violence among poor and working-class communities.

But unemployment, poverty, hunger and inequality were not created by migrants. They are the result of economic injustice, corruption, exploitation and state failure.

As MACUA, we believe the poor must not be turned against one another while elites continue to benefit from our suffering.

Join our important members’ webinar:

✊🏾 FROM DIVISION TO SOLIDARITY
Building Working-Class Power Against Xenophobia, Poverty and Inequality

The webinar will discuss:
▪️ Why xenophobia is rising
▪️ The real causes of unemployment and inequality
▪️ Working-class unity and solidarity
▪️ Building people’s power for jobs, land, housing and dignity
▪️ Strategies to resist division and violence in our communities

🗓️ Date: Thursday 28 May 2026
⏰ Time: 10h00 - 12h00
📍 Online Platform: https://t.co/yzYjA8rLJ9

NO WAR AMONG THE POOR!
BUILD PEOPLE’S POWER, NOT XENOPHOBIA!

#MACUA #WorkingClassUnity #StopXenophobia #PeoplesPower #SocialJustice #NoWarAmongThePoor

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

📍 ROBEGA COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT – NORTH WEST ✊🏿

The leadership of MACUA recently engaged with the community of Robega in the North West as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen community participation, accountability, and democratic organising in mining-affected communities.

The engagement created an important platform for residents, youth, and community leaders to openly discuss the growing challenges facing Robega, including governance concerns, access to services, unemployment, and the broader socio-economic conditions affecting the community despite the presence of mining operations.The discussions also reflected the ongoing struggles linked to the closure of the community office, which has disrupted access to critical services such as proof of residence letters, bursary support, job opportunity assistance, and other essential community functions.

MACUA reaffirmed that communities must not be excluded from decisions affecting their lives and futures. The engagement emphasized the importance of unity, transparent leadership, peaceful mobilisation, and building stronger community structures capable of defending the dignity and rights of the people of Robega.
As MACUA, WAMUA, and YAMUA continue building community power across the country, Robega stands as another reminder that mining-affected communities are organising not only for accountability, but for a future where development truly benefits the people.✊🏿

“Nothing About Us Without Us”

✊🏿 Land • Rights • Our Future
#MACUA #WAMUA #YAMUA #Robega #MiningAffectedCommunities #CommunityPower #NorthWest #SocialJustice

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

⚖️ RIGHTS WITHOUT POWER = RIGHTS DENIED ⚖️

South Africa’s Constitution promises dignity, equality, and justice — but for many mining-affected communities, these rights remain words on paper while corporations continue to profit and communities continue to suffer.

This powerful opinion piece exposes the growing crisis of constitutional accountability: a system where communities are expected to trust laws and institutions that too often fail to protect them from environmental destruction, displacement, poverty, and corporate impunity.

From Marikana to abandoned mines, toxic pollution, broken promises, and exclusion from decision-making, the question remains:

What does democracy mean if communities have no real power over the resources beneath their feet?

As MACUA, WAMUA & YAMUA, we continue to fight for a future where communities are not treated as passive stakeholders, but as rights-bearing people with the power to shape development, demand accountability, and defend their land, health, and dignity.

📰 Read and share the article:
https://t.co/45Y1oLLtvD

#MACUA #WAMUA #YAMUA #MiningJustice #ConstitutionalAccountability #EnvironmentalJustice #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs #HumanRights #JustTransition ✊🏿❤️💚

[Mining Affected Communities United in Action @macua_sa]

MEDIA STATEMENT
For Immediate Release – 18 May 2026
MACUA CALLS FOR URGENT PARLIAMENTARY INTERVENTION OVER IGNORED COMMUNITY PETITION AND ESCALATING KRIEL HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), together with affected mining communities and civil society, has formally written to Parliament and relevant state institutions regarding the continued failure to respond meaningfully to a petition submitted to Parliament on 26 November 2025.

The petition raised concerns regarding systemic failures within South Africa’s mining governance framework, including mining-related displacement, failures in Social and Labour Plan implementation, weak regulatory oversight, environmental liabilities, community exclusion, and the growing humanitarian conditions affecting mining-affected communities across the country.

Despite previous indications that the petition had been referred to the Portfolio Committee on Mineral and Petroleum Resources, the issues raised do not appear to have been substantively addressed within the Committee’s First and Second Term 2026 programmes.

MACUA and affected communities are deeply concerned that Parliament continues to engage mining-related crises largely as isolated incidents, while failing to address the broader systemic governance and accountability failures that continue to produce recurring patterns of harm in mining-affected communities.

The correspondence further highlights the escalating humanitarian situation presently unfolding in Ga-Nala (Kriel), where families have reportedly been displaced and rendered homeless

following evictions and demolitions linked to mining-related restructuring and governance failures.

According to MACUA, the Kriel matter was not raised as an isolated incident but formed part of the broader concerns already placed before Parliament through the November 2025 petition.

The organisation argues that the current crisis demonstrates the real and foreseeable consequences of continued institutional inaction and weak oversight.The correspondence also references broader public concerns arising from matters such as Heidedal, Ekapa, and the Jagersfontein disaster, which together point to recurring failures of governance, accountability, and community protection within the mining sector.

MACUA is calling for:

urgent parliamentary engagement with affected communities;
public hearings into the issues raised in the petition;
an oversight visit to Ga-Nala (Kriel);
and meaningful engagement on the broader systemic failures affecting mining-affected communities.
“Communities have repeatedly warned that these harms are not isolated incidents. What continues to emerge across different mining regions is a pattern of weak oversight, displacement, exclusion, and abandonment that cannot continue to be treated case-by-case while the underlying systemic failures remain unaddressed,” the organisations National Coordinator, Sabelo Mnguni said.

MACUA has requested a formal response from Parliament and relevant institutions within seven working days.

__________________________________Ends___________________________________

Issued by:
Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA)

For media enquiries, interviews, or access to the additional information:
Sabelo Mnguni: 083 563 8985