We, the residents of Riverlea as a whole and the Riverlea Ext 2 Residents Association demand the removal of Zamimpilo Mining Settlement. Since 1993 this camp has grown exponentially with the majority of residents being illegal foreign nationals. The camp is a haven for illegal activities such as illegal mining, murder, illegal land occupation, illegal electricity connections, water interruptions due to illegal mining activities, uncontrolled use of explosives, mining turf wars, house breaking, illegal shebeens, noise pollution, air pollution, water pollution and the list goes on. Our community lives in fear day and night. The Mining shafts were closed by the Mining Forum, but new entry points have now been dug inside a few of these shacks. This is a disaster waiting to happen. Our homes will collapse, leading to mass destruction and thousands of lives lost. We have dangerous pipelines running through our neighborhood, the likes of Transnet and Sasol fuel and gas lines. We are in imminent danger!

On the other hand, we have residents in Zamimpilo fearing for their lives. They live in unhygienic conditions, with dirty water on their doorsteps, farm animals such as pigs and goats living with residents in proximity. Millions of Rands that was spent on upgrading their toilets have now become homes to some of them and the rest of the toilets have security guards, paid by the government, but is non-functional.

We implore everyone to please hear our plight as tax paying citizens of Riverlea Ext 2

Our demands are as follows:

1. Remove Zamimpilo Informal Mining Settlement,

2. Seal all shafts (whether disused or informally unearthed, redundant) in around Riverlea including areas like Stormill, permanently as a mitigating factor, thereby preventing unauthorized access by illegal miners

3. Rehabilitate the mining footprint fully, rendering the area safe for our community and our neighboring industrial areas