Cape Town – Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has expressed his condolences to the families affected by a gas cylinder leak that resulted in the death of at least 17 people in Boksburg.
Eleven others have been hospitalised, some in critical condition.
The incident occurred six months after a gas tanker explosion that killed 40 people in the same area.
Lesufi assured support for the affected families and the surrounding community.
“We want as national government, provincial government and local government to extend our sincere condolences to all the families that have been affected. It’s a tragic event.
“We have learnt from the previous incident and our systems…this time, were on par and they responded the way we advised them and the lessons we learnt from the previous explosion. We are strongly monitoring the situation and we keep our eye on it. We have asked our experts to remain here,” he said.
[WATCH] Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says the community is calling for the army to fight the scourge of illegal mining in the area. He highlights the regulations around deploying the army. #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/yebeWvuIk5
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) July 6, 2023
The gas cylinder leak is believed to be caused by illegal miners in the area, prompting Lesufi to condemn the criminal activity and call for the formation of a specialised police unit to address the issue.
He highlighted the need for updated law enforcement mechanisms and a well-resourced strategy to combat illegal mining effectively.
“We are under siege. We are using outdated law enforcement mechanisms in a new era that needs new forms of law enforcement. We have to overhaul our law enforcement response.
“This thing of illegal mining is completely out of control. I am of the view that we need a specialised way of training our law enforcement. They try…[but] the fire power of the illegal miners and the resources that [police] have are not…at the level that they confront these things.
“I am calling for a completely new strategy in confronting this thing. A strategy that is well resourced and the capability of our law enforcement agencies that are at a higher level and they need to respond as if we are in a war zone,” he said.
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“I’m calling for maximum firepower”, said Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi in the wake of 17 people who’ve died in Boksburg due to a poisonous gas inhalation.
Illegal miners, infamously referred to as Zama Zamas, are being blamed for the tragedy… pic.twitter.com/7RUQ2vJZH4
— Xoli Mngambi (@XoliMngambi) July 6, 2023
Lesufi acknowledged the efforts of the police but stressed the importance of further capacity building to address the well-resourced and connected nature of illegal mining operations.
He called for the deployment of technology and air support to locate illegal mining activities and apprehend those involved.
“The police are doing their best…[however] we are exposing them because they are confronted with a situation that is well resourced, well connected and that has the firepower to create problems for all of us. We just have to capacitate the police with the necessary firepower to respond.
“We need firepower… from technology and from the air. If people get out of those illegal mines and come out, we need to be able to pick them up and we need to know where these activities are taking place. We can’t do that with the naked eye or the resources that we have,” he said.
The Premier is scheduled to meet with community leaders in the affected area.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
