One should not lose sight of the fact that the miners are employed by Lonmin to work the Marikana mine. There can be no debate that mining is a dirty and extremely dangerous business. Lonmin, the company, is owed by its stockholders who have invested capital into the company. It is the stockholders who have a right to share in the profits of the company or the losses that it might suffer. The striking workers do not have an equitable interest Lonmin. Regardless the miners were sufficiently motivated or compelled to take on the heavily armed and professionally trained security forces on the Marikana hilltop.

The miners’ excessive pay raise demands can only be understood in context of SA’s broken promises since the end of apartheid to its citizens. I believe that Scott Baldauf, a staff writer with the well respected Christian Science Monitor, has correctly stated the reasons for the miners’ unusually level of militancy and their apparent frustration with their economic station in life. In article posted on August 17, 2012, 12:32 EDT, entitled “The Real Danger for South Africa after Lonmin Mine Shooting”, Mr. Baldauf analytically peels back the layers of history to expose the miners’ raw nerve.

Mr. Baldauf compares the Lonmin shooting to previous massacres perpetrated by the SA government security-police forces. He mentions the mass shootings at Sharpeville in 1960 which left 50 pro-democracy protesters dead and the shootings during the Soweto riots in which 360 unharmed protesters. According to the author the most crucial and obvious between then and now is the skin color of the apartheid and ANC governments. Yet, Mr. Baldauf asks rhetorically if a black-majority government should use deadly force tactics against a crowd of black protesters. What this author is really asking is why black workers would risk their lives to challenge a black controlled government. Lonmin appears to be only the pawn in miners’ play for power.

It is generally agreed that union rivalry fueled the miners’ militancy. The National Union of Mine Workers has represented miners’ interests for years. The NUM has close ties with the ANC (African National Congress) party and politicians who hold the reins of SA political power. Many South African see NUM as part of the establishment. The NUM, Uasa and Solidarity are the only union that can legally speak for the workers. The fact that three unions can negotiate with Lonmin on behalf of the miners can only complicate labor negotiations and relations. In my opinion SA labor laws should be amended to permit only one union to represent workers at any one job site.

Recently some members of the NUM split off and formed a more demanding and radical union, the Association of Mine Workers and Construction Workers (AMCU). This newer union which is not aligned with the ruling ANC party believes that the more established NUM fails to aggressively protect the interests of the workers. NUM leadership had been warned that it was losing touch with its workers. Its failure to protect its “turf” is symptomatic of the ANC’s long hold on power without having to invest the political and economic capital to reduce property and raise the quality of South Africans. While the leaders of the NUM were basking in the high profile and pay positions the leaders of AMCU were stealing the initiative at the Lonmin mine. The pundits agree that it was the AMCU’s strategy to target the Marikana mine to flex its union power. By all standards it successfully exercised its power in the labor dispute even though it legally had no right to.

SA’s official unemployment rate hovers around 25%. It is believed that its unofficial rate of unemployment is significantly higher. Many South Africans lack basic services like clean drinking water, sewage, electricity and access to affordable health care. Labor unrest seems to be percolating up from grass roots protests of discontent with the ruling party. Before Lonmin workers attempted to form a more radical union at the Ludlow coal mine. Colorado Fuel and Iron Company refused to negotiate with the radical group. Eventually management called in the militiamen to sweep away the miners’ tent city. In the process of the eviction action 18 people were killed. Though the ruling ANC party counts the parent union of the NUM – the Congress of South African Trades Union – as ruling coalition partner their relationship will change as NUM loses sway of its workers.

I agree with Mr. Baldauf that there will be no “Arab Spring” anytime soon in SA. There necessary elements are not in place in order for there to be a complete and total rejection of ANC party rule. In my opinion one party rule has been the Achilles heel of African nations. It is responsible for corruption and preventing economic development and the ushering in of a more democratic society. The AMCU represents a clear and present danger to ANC’s claim to power.

The day after the shooting the miners and their relatives warmly received Julius Malema. He is the charismatic and much esteemed ex-ANC Youth Leader. To many South Africans he represents their hope for a better future. In April the ANC leadership expelled him from the party because of his constant criticism of President Zuma. He also attacked the ANC’s for its failure to improve the lives of South Africans. Even though recent events had traumatized most of the crowd, they rose up and applauded Mr. Malema’s arrival. He wasted no time in criticizing SA President Zuma. The crowd was told that their President and security forces were responsible for the deaths of their family members. The people in attendance heard Mr. Malema challenge the President to back the miners’ wage demands or resign the presidency. He implored the attentive audience to ask itself why the government still had not improved their economic lots. Promises of affordable housing, access to decent health care, proper sewerage managements, the ability to educate their children and political-economic control over their futures have all been broken by the government. Mr. Malema was speaking to a crowd who members mostly lived in corrugated metal shacks that lacked running water, electricity or proper sewerage. He demanded that South Africa nationalize all of the mines and farms. It is no wonder that his every word was greeting with applause and nodding heads. The leadership of AMCU back Mr. Malema and share his vision of a better SA.