Pretoria - Mining communities across the country say mining companies’ social and labour plans (SLPs) do not cater for their actual needs.
This is one of the findings contained in a study released this week by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at Wits University, which evaluated 50 mining companies’ SLPs.
Although, according to the law, mining rights applicants are required to set out how their operations would benefit their workers and the communities in the area of their operations, the study points out that after this process, very little monitoring is conducted to ensure plans are realised.
“There is mounting evidence of a stark disjuncture between the rhetoric in SLPs and the lived realities of mine-affected communities who do not see the promised benefits of mining development materialising,” the study said.
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Tebogo Makolwane of the SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) said the findings of the study were spot on, adding that the community of Bekkersdal where he resides was yet to see the proceeds of having two mining giants, Sibanye Gold and Gold Fields, in their own backyard.
“We have 800 000 young people who are unemployed. The mines and the municipality have failed the community.
“Mines have made millions of rand, but we have not seen those millions even today. The mines have created trust funds, and 1percent of their profits are put in a trust fund and community members were supposed to benefit.
“But the millions of rand that have been placed in the trust fund have not benefited the communities,” Makolwane said.
The study explains there is a significant lack of community consultation by the mining houses when formulating their SLPs.
This meant that communities would have little knowledge about what to expect from the companies, while the study recognises that central to the issue of implementation was the question of accountability.
“As social beneficiation instruments, one would expect SLPs to be rooted in the needs and aspirations of communities and workers. However, we found that a vast majority of SLPs made no mention of the processes of consultation with communities in particular,” the study stated.
A significant number of planslacked evidence of finality and completion, and were operating without signed time-frames.
Some of the recommendations made in the report suggested the state's intervention in ensuring that “noble promises” don't go unmet.
The Centre for Applied Legal Studies has committed to establishing a toolkit to assist communities in planning engagement with companies and government role-players.
PRETORIA NEWS