“Zama zama” is a paradoxical industry. In essence, zama zamas are a direct result of unresolved socioeconomic imbalances confronting one of Africa’s most powerful economies, and of the avarice of mining empires and South Africa’s political system.
According to Minerals Council South Africa, the country has over 30,000 illegal miners whose illicit activities are worth R21-billion a year. In this there is a paradox as these illegal activities represent lost production, lost taxes, and the potential of formal economic and employment opportunities that the host communities desperately need.
The current mining legislation needs to be completely overhauled in order to promote small-scale mining and shared value, and in this way redefine the value chain while stimulating additional investment. A further barrier to sustainability through shared value pertains to the process of granting prospecting and mining rights. This process has been designed in a manner that structurally and systematically excludes the marginalised from meaningfully participating in the economic value chain of the mining industry.
Alternatively, a regulatory framework could be developed that recognises small-scale mining as a formal livelihood strategy, and thus part of the formal economic sector.