JOHANNESBURG - A coordinated approach from various department is needed to deal with illegal mining according to criminologist, professor Kholofelo Rakubu.
This comes on the back of calls from the Democratic Alliance for a specialised crime-busting unit to tackle the issues of zama zamas.
Just last week, 17 people at the Angelo informal settlement in the East Rand died, following a gas leak explosion.
Zama zamas have been blamed for the deaths, which included three children.
To date police have made no arrests.
Rakubu said, "before we arrive at a strategy there are multiple departments that impact negatively on the functionality or responsiveness of the police."
"We are dealing with [the Department of] Home Affairs, we're dealing with [the Department of] Social Development there are all of those - that is why we need a coordinated response, all sister Departments must take responsibility."
"Municipalities must take the lead within their areas of jurisdiction to avoid opportunities for illegal mining."
"Now, do not leave [mine] shafts open. The Department of Mineral Resources should take charge [of that] because the communities who have more vulnerabilities for such takeovers from illegal miners: they are all looking for opportunities."
"Unattended or abandoned shafts, you are creating a problem for municipalities who are already struggling."
"The South African Police Service should come in and respond to unemployment related issues? There are many issues that SAPS cannot attend to: issues of lighting, surveillance, territorial reinforcement or municipal ownership it is beyond the police," she said.