ZIAMU calls on gvt to declare 6th June a national holiday
Zimbabwe Advanced Mine Workers Union (ZIAMU) has called on the government to honour mineworkers who lost their lives at the Kamandama mine disaster by declaring the day when the miners succumbed a public holiday.
Anerudo Mapuranga
The mineworkers union said it was important for the day to be recognized nationally in an effort to intensify safety awareness in the country’s extractive industry.
“ZIAMU believes that it would be appropriate for the 6th of June to be declared a public holiday, to heighten safety consciousness in the country,” the union said.
The Kamandama disaster remains the worst mine disaster in the country’s history and every June 6, commemorations are held to honour the 427 miners who perished in 1972 at the Colliery’s Kamandama Mine Disaster.
A Golf Tournament is held before the commemorations to raise funds towards the cause, but this year it was not held due to Covid-19.
The disaster took place at the Wankie No.2 Colliery in Wankie, (now known as Hwange) in Matabeleland North, when several gas explosions ripped through the mine. It was initially believed that more than 470 miners were trapped, but the number was lowered after the owners found a number of people had shown up for work.
Eight men were pulled alive from the mine after the initial explosions. Two new explosions on 7 June poured clouds of poisonous gas into the 4.8KMs of tunnels, making further rescue attempts impossible.
On June 9 1972 the then general manager of the then Wankie Colliery, Gordon Livingstone-Blevins, decided to leave the 424 bodies where they were. Three bodies had been recovered after the initial explosions.
A mass memorial service took place on 11 June at a nearby football stadium, where a crowd of about 5,000 people paid tribute.
Hwange has gone through tremendous transformation since then and in 2018 President Mnangagwa signed several investment agreements with China.
Hwange Units 7 & 8 Thermal Power Station expansion which will add 600 MW to the national grid is one of the mega projects.