BY NALEDI BOGACWI

THE community of Dryharts in Taung, and its neighboring areas welcomed the initiative by Alderwood Trading Company that requested a certain portion of the land to do mining.

Alderwood Trading company managing director, Godfrey Mocwane said the project will create job opportunities for the residents of Dryharts and will offer training to them in various skill developments. “We met with the community on Wednesday to discuss our way forward regarding the project. We also wanted to inform them that our application   has been accepted by the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) Klerksdorp office in the North West Province.

Mocwane said both applications have been accepted by the DMR on 14 July 2015. He said the applications has been accepted by Mineral and are in terms of Section 27 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA) and related its Amendments, and are for the mining of Stone Aggregate, Gravel and Sand in the Village of Dryharts.

“We will create job opportunities and also reduce unemployment. Most youth in the area are unemployed, while others only have matric certificates. That is not enough nowadays. We will offer them various skill developments in mining industry and that will help them in the future as we will present them with certificates after completion,” he said.

Community Development Worker from The Office Of The Premier, under Directorate Monitoring and Evaluation from Ward 4, in Dryharts, Tshepiso Jantjies said the project will come in handy as it will produce materials to build roads, pavement and construction. “The area is lagging behind in skill developments. The project will be helpful as there is a shortage of skill in the area and unemployment is at high. We welcome the initiative with open arms,” Jantjies said.

One of the residents, Oratile Moremi, 27, also shared the sentiments as he said they need more projects to come to their area. “Without projects, our economy is at risk, so we appreciate what the Alderwood Trading Company is doing. We need skill development because mostly, young people are the ones at risk. Unemployment is at high and that create crime, and most youth indulge in drugs and alcohol because there have nothing to do,” he said.

According to Bacwane, the project is expected to kick-start soon as they are still busy with some paperwork.

-TDN

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