Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the Council -
1) notes with the utmost concern that well-organised criminal syndicates are luring unemployed young men from neighbouring countries to enter the country and to illegally dig for gold under dangerous conditions, especially at the Tshepong mine in Welkom in the Free State;
2) further notes that these syndicates are assisted by corrupt security officers and clerks who work for the mines, use retrenched or former miners to give crash courses to the recruits and in instances where it is too expensive to bribe security and mine employees, the recruits are smuggled through tunnels in disused mines; and
3) takes this opportunity to call on all authorities and the mining industry to work decisively to put an end to incidents of illegal mining and ensure that those who continue to traffic our people for their own selfish needs are made to face the full might of the law.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.