Entrepreneur lays bare how black firms are short-changed by Implats mine

Letlhogonolo Mogopodi has every reason not to be gullible to mining management’s pledge to empower local black-owned businesses.

An entrepreneur and leader in the platinum-rich North West village of Luka, Mogopodi has been short-changed several times for contracts at the Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats) mining operations – hosted in the royal Bafokeng-owned community land.

Contending that 80% of goods and services should be procured locally by the mine – in line with the Mining Charter, with Implats procurement budget running into R8.9 billion – a frustrated Mogopodi has laid to bare “intentional obstructions” experienced by him and other black-owned Luka-based businesses in attaining a slice of the big pie.

According to documents seen by The Citizen, Mogopodi’s NTN Construction – in a joint venture (JV) partnership with white-owned Biziwe – was this year awarded a contract to supply the mine with ventilation seals, but to the exclusion of NTN Construction.

This, despite NTN Construction having entered into a JV agreement with Andre van Zyl’s Biziwe, to meet Implats requirements for a joint bid for the R30 million tender.

Biziwe, the premier product supplier to ventilation wall applicators delivering long-term ventilation solutions to the mining industry, was prepared to transfer technical skills to NTN Construction.

In the unexpected twist of events in the tender process, Mogopodi and Van Zyl were shocked by the outcome.

According to Mogopodi, it all began with a request for information (RFI) advertisement, published by the Royal Bafokeng Enterprise Development (RBED) on 29 September 2018 “for A641 manufacture, supply and installation of underground ventilation seals”.

In strengthening his team for the bid, Mogopodi wrote to Biziwe, requesting a JV partnership, followed by an
e-mail to Implats on 1 October 2018 expressing interest in the tender, with Biziwe on board.

In the run-up to the awarding of the bid, the JV partnership’s positive expectations were heightened when:

• Implats requested more documents on 6 June 2019.
• NTN Construction and Biziwe finalised the JV partnership – assisted by RBED head Ian Venter – On 29 June.
• Van Zyl informed Mogopodi the JV was shortlisted.

“But early in February this year, Van Zyl informed me his company – not the JV – has been awarded the tender to supply Quick seal, which is their product. The supply and installation of Robust seal was awarded to another company Provest, making Van Zyl unhappy,” he said.

“The plan was that, after the awarding of the tender, NTN Construction would do installation of Robust and Quick seal.

“What got us worried was that the installation job was given to a non-seal specialist Provest, which does not even own Robust seal – while NTN Construction and Biziwe are both approved installers of Robust seal.”

When Mogopodi held two meetings with Implats management in April, he was told Biziwe was chosen because of its technical expertise.

“I told management we didn’t tender separately but as a JV, with Andre attesting he tendered in partnership with NTN Construction.”

Unhappy about the outcome of the meeting, Mogopodi wrote an e-mail to Implats Rustenburg chief executive Mark Munroe, who responded, saying he has instructed some procurement, enterprise development and legal people to meet with him.

“But they were worse than the first people I met, because they said they had a right to do what was right for Impala – and they could dismantle any JV agreement, with me having nothing to do with it,” said Mogopodi.

“I was made to enter into a JV agreement with a white-owned company – formalising it at the Royal Bafokeng Economic Development, to fulfil Impala requirements of ventilation seals.

Normally, when two businesses make a submission in a JV, the tender is awarded and Impala issues the contract – after being further required to form an SPV (special purpose vehicle) to be owned by the two companies.

“But after we jointly submitted our document, Implats dropped me and awarded the contract to the white company – neglecting all requirements of the Mining Charter to empower locally.

“I was also removed from the JV incorporation to supply the ventilation seals, because the mine was working with a company called Provest – also awarded in the same contract.”

Asked to comment on concerns of racial discrimination in the awarding of tenders by the company, Munroe told The Citizen Implats had “a cross-section of professional and subject matter experts who dissect the award procurement orders”, with race not being an issue.

“All sourcing events are widely advertised to the mine communities and they are provided with a preferential scoring advantage in all sourcing events.

“All companies are treated equally, with the exception of mine host communities who benefit from our preferential procurement and localisation policies,” he said.

– brians@citizen.co.za