The arrogance of the ANC is abundantly enshrined in the person of Gwede Mantashe. Not only has he tried to rule the sector with an iron fist of "I know better than anyone else," but he has also been the most effective bedfellow of the mining industry since the end of formal apartheid.

Listen to this article 7 min Listen to this article 7 min "Reason begins where speculation ends. Facts begin where assumptions end. Truth begins where ignorance ends. Wisdom begins where knowledge ends." - Matshona Dhliwayo

In many ways, the brutal massacre of 34 miners, in broad daylight, and screened live for all the world to see, on the dusty koppie of Marikana, represents the day our ignorance ended.

From that moment on, we could no longer claim ignorance about the true and bloody nature of the "democratic" state that followed the minority rule of colonial apartheid.

Across the country, miners, mining affected communities and farmworkers, some of the most marginalised and excluded citizens, rose up in strikes and protests across the country as the truth of the continued oppression and exclusion became manifest in the blood that stained the koppie of Marikana on that fateful day of 16 August 2012.

The Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) was formed in the heat of the broad uprising of the poor and marginalised, but was faced with an intransigent and arrogant government, which not only continued to ignore their plight, but who continued to actively exclude and demean the most vulnerable...