Residents and business owners in Pilgrim’s Rest, Mpumalanga, blame governance failures for the town’s declining tourism rather than illegal miners. They highlight delays in awarding leases for sites like the Royal Hotel amid high unemployment. Local voices insist crime remains low despite the miners’ presence.
Pilgrim’s Rest, a historic gold mining town in Mpumalanga declared a National Monument in 1986, was once a key tourist spot linked to the 1873 gold rush and home to Gold Panning Championships. Today, locals describe it as a ghost town plagued by unemployment and few visitors.
Residents attribute the woes to closed businesses and job shortages. One said, “There are no jobs, there are only a few people that work, and the companies are closed for progress or productions. Those are the main causes that make this town a ghost town.” Another defended the illegal miners, known as Zama-Zamas: “There is nothing wrong about the Zama-Zamas, they must leave the Zama-Zama alone, if they want to employ us, let them employ us.”
Business owner Leona Oosthuizen rejected blaming miners for the slump. “Everybody reckons it’s the Zama-Zamas killing our town, it’s not. We have zero crime in our town... To blame the Zama-Zamas is wrong... The main concern is tenders not being awarded. The Royal Hotel... has been closed for more than a year now, waiting for a tender to be awarded by the government.”
Provincial Public Works spokesperson Bongani Dlamini stated the department is finalizing a service provider for the Pilgrim’s Rest hotel. Separately, police arrested 10 Zama-Zamas during Operation Vala Umgodi, with eight remanded in Graskop Magistrate’s Court. Officials urged communities to report illegal mining.