Mine closure, women, and crime in Matjhabeng, South Africa

Sesele, Kentse; Marais, Lochner

doi:10.1111/1745-5871.12563

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Finally, respondents also expressed concern that increased unemployment, would contribute to more crime, an increase in unwanted pregnancies and gender-based violence. Sesele and Marais (2022) have already identified the growth of these problems following gold mine closures elsewhere in the country. Although the evidence of a direct relationship between crime and poverty is limited, respondents often referred to it.…”

Section: Social and Employment Concernsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The regional implications of just transition in the world's most coal-dependent economy: The case of Mpumalanga, South Africa

Nel¹,

Marais²,

Mqotyana³

2023

Front. Sustain. Cities

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IntroductionSouth Africa has had an extraordinarily heavy reliance on coal to fuel its economy, and it is one of the highest carbon dioxide emitters per capita globally. Current moves aligned with COP26 and recently announced Western support for a Just Transition Partnership to support decarbonisation in South Africa and replace coal fired power stations with renewables are to be welcomed. That said, the majority of South Africa's coal mines, thermal power stations and the currently important coal export industry are located in Mpumalanga's Coal-Belt, an area which has and will continue to experience significant social and economic trauma as mines close and workers needs to be reskilled. There are currently over 100,000 workers in the coal and related industries in this region.MethodsThis paper draws on international and South African evidence of the effects and responses to mine closure, regional resilience theory and evolutionary economic geography theory to analyse the implications and prospects for economic renewal as the coal industry winds down. Evidence is sourced form secondary material including government and industry policy statements and media articles, while primary material was sourced from key informant interviews.ResultsTransitioning this region of South Africa from its virtual mono-economy based on coal presents challenges which this paper highlights. While support from international sources to help make this transition into renewables will be of considerable benefit, significant challenges need to be addressed to ensure that difficulties are overcome, and the risks of the resource curse experienced in many developing countries are minimized.DiscussionProcesses may need to be put in place to ensure that the ambitious goal of transitioning from coal to renewables can be achieved, finances and management well-targeted, and a sense of security given to outside investors to help fund the transition, but also broader economic diversification. In parallel to ensure the “transition is just” mechanisms also need to be put in place, by the state and the investors, to ensure that those citizens unable to transition are empowered and engaged in their community to stem the risk of the inevitable frustration and social disturbance that exclusion from the economy and living with declining services creates. Whom should be putting these processes into place also needs consideration given that existing organizations are already struggling. Though not an easy task, it is hoped that this paper sheds some light on the various issues and encourages consideration of the ways to address them.

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Section: Social and Employment Concernsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The regional implications of just transition in the world's most coal-dependent economy: The case of Mpumalanga, South Africa

Nel¹,

Marais²,

Mqotyana³

2023

Front. Sustain. Cities

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“…Four original articles follow Steve’s contribution: serendipitously, three are about mining and its challenges in South Africa (Sesele & Marais, 2023), Ghana (Afriyie et al, 2023), and the Philippines (Ocampo & Schmitz, 2023). The last is a comparative analysis of Buddhist and Taoist sacred mountains in China and, like the others, but for very different reasons, I found it fascinating (Qiu et al, 2023).…”

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confidence: 99%

Radical rest and recreation and their spatial permutations

Stratford¹

2023

Geographical Research

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In December 2022, the team at Geographical Research-including members of the Institute of Australian Geographers and staff from Wiley-came together in celebration of 60 years in the life of the journal. Held online, the short event enabled us to launch an editorial pick of 10 years' of work on geography published between Volumes 51 and 60, and those are now available online here. It was a lovely occasion and provided an opportunity to show what is a newly refreshed look for the journal.And then many of us went through that mad period of days or weeks before what is often a collective break at the year's end so that we could 'down tools' for a period of time. A necessity? Absolutely, but also something not to be taken for granted given how many people throughout the world work with little rest and limited labour protection.I always take more time than I'd like to wind down, and it interests me that many of the strategies I use to do so are spatial in character-at least they seem so to me, but then I feel as though I am permanently enmeshed in a geographically inflected ontology.So, for example, I make certain that every last 'species' of work that might have crept out of the home office into the rest of the house is rounded up and gently enclosed back in that office, and the door is then shut for the duration. I turn off all notifications and 'park' them in cyber space after setting up out-of-office messages that I hope give comfort to those who are still submitting work to the journal in the team's short absence.And then … And then I garden with an enthusiasm and focus that is soothing-therapeutic even-and that provides immediate gratification and connection to the elements and the more-than-human. I read light-hearted works with a mix of voraciousness and languor and then, when the temptation to nap becomes too compelling, I 'map' the inside of my eyelids. I reintroduce myself to forms of food preparation and cooking that engender ease and slow pace. And I mooch with friends over coffee or I simply sit in the garden and work to embody the verb be rather than do.Rest is not, I think, a way of being that many of us are especially adept at, and I would certainly place myself in those ranks. I struggle to stop and am always and inevitably deeply grateful that I have. Rest enables

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The Socio-economic Wellbeing of Small Mining Towns in the Northern Cape

Gardiner¹

2023

GeoJournal Library

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With South Africa being a developing country in many respects, the management of natural resources is of high importance. It should therefore be determined how these resources are managed and what happens to the capital generated by the extraction of these resources. The resource curse hypothesis will be used as a base to understand why there are so many underdeveloped communities in places where these resources are extracted. The aim of this study was to investigate the nature and extent of the economic and social conditions of the communities of small mining towns in the Northern Cape.The research objectives of the study were (1) to study the literature on the effects of mining on mining town communities as well as the responses to these effects on human well-being and quality of life; (2) to identify key dimensions and indicators to determine social and economic well-being; (3) to show the change in socio-economic well-being as well as demographics over a ten-year period, and identify the factors determining changes; (4) to rank these towns according to their level of socio-economic well-being; and (5) to investigate the current climate of social and economic well-being in two case study towns by conducting interviews with key stakeholder.The study followed an exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data was obtained using the census data of 2001 and 2011. A composite indicator index was then formulated to show the level of quality of life and human well-being of these towns. The towns were ranked according to this index and two case studies were done, one near the top and one near the bottom of the ranking. Data was captured and analysed using STATISTICA, Excel and ArcGIS.Perceptions on the current state of development and the impact of mining on these communities were obtained by semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in the public and private sectors.The findings indicate that the resource curse does exist in small mining towns in the Northern Cape, which is a frontier region. It was also found that small towns are dependent on a single industry, in this case mining andhave few alternatives when it comes to diversification. It is also difficult for government to drive development since they, too, are dependent on the financial input of these mining companies. The findings in this study should assist policy-makers in government and the mining companies to identify the possible shortcoming of development strategies and plans, and in formulating these strategies and plans in accordance with the specific circumstances of each of these small towns Keywords and phrases: Socio-economic wellbeing, quality of life, mining towns, frontier region, resource curse, resource dependence, corporate social responsibility, composite indicator index Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za

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Mine closure, women, and crime in Matjhabeng, South Africa

Cited by 3 publications

References 43 publications

The regional implications of just transition in the world's most coal-dependent economy: The case of Mpumalanga, South Africa

The regional implications of just transition in the world's most coal-dependent economy: The case of Mpumalanga, South Africa

Radical rest and recreation and their spatial permutations

The Socio-economic Wellbeing of Small Mining Towns in the Northern Cape

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