Kutlwanong Township 120 Years On

Introduction

After reading A New Afrikan you will become orientated in terms of how things work in this world. You will understand why are we literally sitting on gold and yet so impoverished as Kutlwanong. I grew up loving mining engineering as a child, I had natural affinity to metallurgy and such science. Although I only understood half of the Science Olympiad Journal, we insisted on unearthing the art of science hidden in there with the likes of Thabiso Masedi, Toloko Ntsane, Lota Nolo, Seokgo Mphatsoe, Fusi Madela and many others. It planted a seed for the love of science.

I remember whilst doing  my Standard 9 at Rearabetswe High School, in 1990. The same year Nelson Mandela was released from 27 years of shackles, I applied for the scholarship for Mining Engineering at Wits. I had to go to MarshallTown in Johannesburg at the Anglo American Head Office for an interview. I had to take the 4 am taxi and be subjected to the taxi driver’s abuse of why I could not be sleeping whilst occupying in the front seat. I got to the interview on time but was so exhausted. I underwent my assessment and did an aptitude test as well. Suffice to say, I flunked that interview. I was made to feel like I was not cut for it.

I subsequently took medicine and my journey took a different trajectory. I often wonder how things would have panned out had I persisted in doing mining engineering.

Here is the grim history of Kutlwanong, the beloved township we all grew up in. You see Free State was led by Adam Kok of Griqualand and Morena Moshoeshoe of Basutoland by 1836 when the Boers first arrived from the Cape during the Great Trek. Little did Moshoeshoe suspect that even the Difacane which was causing so much strife and tribal insurgencies was as a result of the European invasion, eg the Portuguese slave masters in the Eastern Mozambique and Northern Kwazulu triggered the move of Mzilikazi inland into the territory of Bafokeng, Bakwena, Motlokoa, Bakgatla, Barolong and so forth. What looked liked a civil tribal war, had a root cause in Europe.

Although happily and warmly welcomed in Basutoland. The Boers had malicious intent. For 30 years they collaborated with the British to oust Moshoeshoe. They didn’t succeed until 1866 when Moshoeshoe finally succumbed to Johannes Brand and Captain Johan Fick. He managed secured Thaba Bosiu as his main stronghold and the land east of the Caledon River, he lost Free State. The first main towns of Winburg and Bloemfontein were built in 1836 and 1846 irrespectively. The idea was to strategically get close to the coveted strip of fertile land on the western banks of the Caledon River. This land was subjected to the first land thuggery attempt in Basutoland/Free State called the Warden Raid after Captain Warden tried usurping the land from Basotho.

The first Mining Commission in South Africa was in 1876, around 10 years after the violent attacks on Basotho by the Netherlands and Britain. William Stow, a geologist from Nuneaton in the UK,  was commissioned to explore the land for its natural resources. He went on to discover and establish various mines like Jagersfontein, Bultfontein and Kimberley “Die Groot Gat”, The Big Hole. In 1888 through the involvement of the young Cecil John Rhodes, a 35 year old from Hertfordshire in the UK, the De Beer Mining Company was established through the help of the Rothschild Banking Family. Kimberley became the first stock exchange in Africa when the mining mogul was publicly listed.

In 1912 Odendaalsrus was founded 10 years after the end of the war between Boers and the Brits in 1902. This was the same year that ANC was formed. The Union of  South Africa would have been predicated on racial disparity in 1910 and the Native Land Act which nullified our right to own the land enshrined in parliament in 1913. ¹

Soon after the Second World War, right at the start of the Cold War, there was a second gold rush in South Africa. The largest gold reef in the world broke out of  Odendaalsrus in 1946, this later led to the expansion into the nearby towns like Welkom, Allanridge and Virginia. These gold fields were part of Anglo American. The first mine was called Geduld Gold Mine. Gold was in potently high demand due the gold standard monetary system, Geduld mine was the richest in the world. Tshepong mines remain highly lucrative today. The current fiat monetary system was only introduced in 1971 by President Richard Nixon following the huge costs of the Vietnam War.

This Gold boom in 1946 had an immense boost to the South African economy, which led to political overconfidence and megalomania of Stellenbosch. The South African economy was planned and cemented. Mines and farms were beneficiated. The industrial growth of South Africa led to the surge in infrastructural and value chain development.

Consequently in 1948 Apartheid was legislated. The white man was confident enough to venture on his own in Africa. He was in Africa and literally defying the Africans, he felt self sufficient. South African history took a dark trajectory. The Group Areas act then got adopted in 1950. This is what led to the forced removal of our people from Marantha, to the current Kutlwanong township in the late 1950s and 1960s early.

The mining and agricultural industries remain the leading sources of wealth for South Africa. Despite the above, Kutlwanong, like many townships in South Africa, remains impoverished and faced with rising youth unemployment and violent crime. Gender based violence is quite rife in Kutlwanong and many townships from Alexander to Zamdela. All these social ills are a reflection of a neglected society, deprived of adequate advocacy and reliable resources.

The mining industry in Odendaalsrus is mainly under Harmony Mines which is privately owned with 20%- 30% Black Economic Empowerment ownership. This is unheard of in most parts of the world. Debswana for instance, is a PPP ( Private Public Partnership) with 50% equity for De Beers and Botswana government.² Usually the local and national government must have good stakes. The Target and Tshepong mines in the region are owned by Harmony Group. These mines yield about 7200kg of gold annually, the current price of gold is around R829 238/kg, do the math.^3. Profits in the range of $400/oz from a total production of 234 475 ounces which is equivalent to 7293kg of gold. This amounts to approximately $94m in profit annually. With no significant benefit to the local economy. Mr Patrice Motsepe is the chairman of the group.

Conclusion

There is an urgent need to make the South African government a 50% stakeholder in Tshepong Mines. This could be done on an incremental basis from 30 to 50% over the next 5 years. The terms and conditions should be clear on how the local economy is going to benefit from this investment. The economic impact must trickle down to the local communities, the custodians of the land on which these mines operate.