The Chamber of Mines on Monday called for an urgent investigation into the possible motive behind the murder of a senior Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) official‚ who was gunned down in his driveway.

Ronny Nzimande‚ the company’s human resources manager‚ was shot outside his home on Tuesday 30 August‚ the chamber said. The Zululand Observer reported that the attackers fired more than 20 shots into Nzimande’s BMW X5‚ in his driveway in Meerensee.

“While the Chamber has no firsthand knowledge of what the motive might have been‚ it has been reported that

there has been ongoing conflict over job appointment processes in the KwaZulu-Natal town where RBM is a

significant employer‚” the chamber said.

A youth leader involved in a jobseekers’ committee‚ along with a relative of his‚ was murdered four weeks previously‚ it noted.

 “Further‚ we understand that several other company executives have been threatened and intimidated.”

While the chamber wanted to see the perpetrators being brought to justice‚ and encouraged the SAPS to diligently pursue this‚ its leadership felt that the situation in the town “calls for more than this“.

“There is a need to develop an understanding of the socio-economic dynamics behind these crimes‚ if indeed they are related‚” the Chamber of Mines said. “Circumstances of unemployment and other economic deprivation might tend to lead to conflict over access to scarce resources such as jobs. All involved need to ensure that recruitment processes are carried out fairly and are seen to be fair. And that the culture of violence and intimidation needs to be curtailed.”