17 Years Later: Richtersveld land claim beneficiaries still waiting for payout
Four Northern Cape communities have been waiting for their share of R190 million and portions of land they won back thanks to a 2007 agreement ordering state diamond mining company Alexkor to compensate the community and restore the mined land to its original condition.
Mining along the Richterveld have left moonlike craters. Picture: Kayleen Morgan
Northern Cape communities have been waiting for their share of R190 million and portions of land they won back thanks to a 2007 agreement ordering state diamond mining company Alexkor to compensate the community. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/ Eyewitness News
Several signs like this hang on barbed wire warning Zama Zamas not to trespass, however, illegal mining is still rife in mines across the Namaqualand. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/Eyewitness News
Lekkersing, an eerily quiet town remains underdeveloped. It's one of the communities where beneficiaries of the renowned 2007 land claim are waiting for their share. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/Eyewitness News
Routes leading to most remote towns in the Richtersveld in the Northern Cape are gravel. This impacts the way services like health care are delivered according to community members. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/ Eyewitness News
Indigenous plants on the Richtersveld are threatened thanks to succulent theft. Illegal mining also affects the lifespan of fauna in the region. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/Eyewitness News
Indigenous plants on the Richtersveld are threatened thanks to succulent theft. Illegal mining also affects the lifespan of fauna in the region. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/Eyewitness News
Indigenous plants on the Richtersveld are threatened thanks to succulent theft. Illegal mining also affects the lifespan of fauna in the region. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/Eyewitness News
A guard sits and keeps watch on a mine just outside Sandrift, one of the communities waiting to benefit from years of diamond mining. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/Eyewitness News
Beneficiaries from the four towns joined a public meeting hosted by the non-profit organisation Protect the West Coast to discuss how they can come together to find a solution to their land claim. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/ Eyewitness News
Beneficiaries from the four towns joined a public meeting hosted by the non-profit organisation Protect the West Coast to discuss how they can come together to find a solution to their land claim. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/ Eyewitness News
Beneficiaries from the four towns joined a public meeting hosted by the non-profit organisation Protect the West Coast to discuss how they can come together to find a solution to their land claim. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/ Eyewitness News
Young !Ama perform the NamaStap. The line dance is a traditional dance of the Rictersveld usually performed on sand. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/ Eyewitness News
Young !Ama perform the NamaStap. The line dance is a traditional dance of the Rictersveld usually performed on sand. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/ Eyewitness News
Young !Ama perform the NamaStap. The line dance is a traditional dance of the Rictersveld usually performed on sand. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/ Eyewitness News
Mining along the Richterveld have left moonlike craters. Picture: Kayleen Morgan
Mining along the Richterveld have left moonlike craters. Picture: Kayleen Morgan