Pretoria -
President Jacob Zuma's scheduled visit to the North West this weekend was cancelled in the aftermath of the Lonmin shooting, the presidency said on Wednesday.
“All public engagements during this period of mourning have been cancelled,” spokesman Mac Maharaj said.
The department of agriculture said the visit, which was part of the Masibambisane rural development initiative, was postponed until further notice.
“The revised date will be communicated once finalised,” it said.
The presidency announced that Zuma arrived in Marikana on Wednesday morning to address Lonmin mineworkers.
“President Jacob Zuma will this morning visit Marikana in Rustenburg to meet the community and assess progress made by the inter-ministerial committee on the Marikana tragedy in assisting the families of mineworkers,” the presidency said on its official Twitter account.
Last week, the platinum mining company's rock drill operators in Marikana embarked on a protest that saw 10 people, including two security guards and two police officers, killed. The protests culminated in clashes with the police on Thursday, in which 34
miners were shot dead, more than 70 injured and 260 arrested.
Zuma visited the mine on Friday and announced he would set up a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the incident.
Zuma's weekend schedule would have included overseeing various developmental projects in the province. These included upgrades to irrigation schemes, as well as livestock and other food security projects.
He was also scheduled to speak at the Taung Agricultural College on Sunday.
Masibambisane is a presidential-led initiative to ensure the implementation of agricultural and rural development projects in the country.
The project was also reportedly behind the R2 billion “Zumaville” town project, to be built near Zuma's rural homestead in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal. - Sapa