IFP: Zuma should have addressed miners
2012-08-20 20:31
Rustenburg - President Jacob Zuma should have addressed the striking workers at Lonmin himself when he visited the mine last week, the IFP said on Monday.
"People have lost their lives here. The president should have at least spoken to these workers and offered his condolences directly," said Inkatha Freedom Party spokesperson Nhlanhla Msimango.
Zuma visited the Marikana mine, in North West, on Friday.
"We know he went to visit those in hospital, but we think it would have been much appreciated around here if he addressed the workers," said Msimango.
On Thursday, police shot dead 34 people and wounded 78 others while trying to disperse a group of protesters encamped on the Wonderkop hill.
Ten people, including police and security guards, had already died in the week before the clash.
On Monday, opposition party leaders visited the Wonderkop squatter camp, where mineworkers and community members had converged.
Democratic Alliance MP Wilmot James said his party had requested "robust" terms of reference for a judicial commission of inquiry set up to probe the killings.
Congress of the People leader Mosiuoa Lekota said their concerns would top the agenda at a special sitting of Parliament on Tuesday.
The opposition parties had yet to visit the injured in hospital and would later hold meetings with the mine's management and its unions.
- SAPA
