26 Jun 2017

Member of Parliament for Lerala/Maunatlala Mr Prince Maele says the Lerala community will be informed about the future of Lerala Diamond Mine.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Lerala recently, Mr Maele said there was a high possibility that Lerala Diamond mine would be liquidated, adding that a consultant had already been engaged to advise the Mine management whether to liquidate or open the mine.

He said should liquidation be the best option, the mine would be forced to pay creditors, adding that if there were no funds to pay creditors then employees would be affected.

He informed residents of Lerala especially those who worked in the mine to await feedback from the mine management.

He said he will do his best to meet the mine management even though his attempts to reach them prior to closure had been futile.

Mr Maele was responding to a request by the former mine employees to intervene.

Regarding the proposed Lerala hospital project, Mr Maele who is also the Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services informed the residents that the project was not cancelled rather was deferred due to financial constraints.

He said he and the delegation from Lerala comprising the village leadership were yet to meet the Minister of Health and Wellness Ms Dorcas Makgatho about the project.

For his part Lerala East Councillor Mr Kabo Ketshogile informed the residents that he and Lerala West councillor Mr Gabagopole Sebele made an effort to go to the mine with the intention to meet the management to iron out some issues.

He said unfortunately they were refused entry into the mine.

Mr Ketshogile said he was not worried about the closure of the mine as the mine only benefited a few people and did not make any positive impact on the community.

He said one of the issues they wanted to address with the management was the recruitment process, accusing the mine of failure to follow proper labour laws.

Regarding the P10m constituency fund allocated to Lerala/Maunatlala, Mr Ketshogile said all the 16 villages in the constituency including Lerala will receive P625 000 to undertake community projects.

He said amongst the projects proposed was the construction of the storm water drainage to help during heavy rains.

Residents commended the government for the constituency fund, saying that it would enable them to carry out developments that have been lagging behind in the village. ENDS