Implats remain defensive over broken promises in platinum rich NW

Don’t be deceived into thinking Kanana in the platinum-rich North West province is a land of milk and honey.

Local residents and entrepreneurs are daily enraged by their living conditions: a lack of business opportunities, streets with potholes, lack of public amenities, and houses that crack and some collapsing because of blasting by Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats) mining group.

Yet there are no community benefits derived from the mining operations in line with provisions of the Mining Charter.

To get a glimpse into the plight of the mining community in Kanana, The Citizen visited the area, and spoke to a distraught mother, Lebogang Letswalo – one victim of the underground blasting.

ALSO READ: Implats being probed for alleged violations of Mining Charter

We also spoke to an executive of the Kanana Business Forum (GKBF).

With her young daughters playing outside her small yard, oblivious of what her mother was going through, you cannot escape the sight of her dilapidated outbuilding, with wooden logs supporting the partially collapsed
roof, which could have led to fatalities.

Emerging from her modest “home”, Letswalo said: “As you can see, there are cracks inside the house.

“One day, this part of the roof just fell [in] when they [Implats] did the blasting at night. But fortunately, there was nobody inside. Luckily, kids were playing in the yard under the trees.

“I feel so bad about what has happened – not because we are unemployed and depending on the government child support grant – but we would not be in a position to prevent a tragedy of a wall falling onto a family, killing
people,” she said.

“When they heard of the incident, Implats managers came – but only to take pictures and contact numbers.

“They never came back and never called us to this day.”

The Citizen spoke to local entrepreneurs who said Implats failed to empower local businesses and failed to adhere to the Mining Charter.

Standing next to Shaft 16’s suppliers gate gave enough insight into the happenings, with The Citizen witnessing several suppliers with non-North West registered vehicles, passing through.

Explained chair of the Greater Kanana Business Forum Sam Nong: “This matter started almost 15 years ago. Right here, at 16 Shaft when it was presented to the community, around 2004/5.

“They consulted with the community, promising so many things. At the top of the agenda, we were told, this
shaft would create jobs, economic opportunities for local SMMEs, and infrastructure development – ploughing back
through the SLP [social and labour plan] programmes.

“We have been engaging with management since 2006, through various forums within the community.

“On top of our agenda is that, through this shaft, no local SMMEs are accessing opportunities. It is very difficult,” he said.

In its response to charges of not adhering to the Mining Charter in the North West, company secretary Tebogo Llale and Implats Rustenburg CEO Mark Munroe, have been defensive.

In a letter to Executive Outcomes, who oversees the audit, Llale said: “We wish to assure you that we view the allegations made by your client in a serious light.

“[Implats] has entrenched governance processes, supported by policies and procedures to deal with the concerns raised by your client.

“Towards this, executive management has requested an investigation to be conducted by Implats’ internal audit function on the allegations alluded to by your clients in the series of newspaper articles.

“The Implats internal audit function reports directly to the chair of the Implats Audit Committee and operates independently of any potentially perceived management influence or interference.”

ALSO READ: Locals feel short-changed as Implats keeps probe internal

While Implats budgeted billions of rands for local community development – in line with the Mining Charter – residents have claimed to be short-changed by the company, claiming it failed to implement principles of the mining charter and requiring mining firms to develop residential villages around operations and adhere to preferential procurement, it is claimed.

Munroe said the company had “a cross-section of professional and subject matter experts who dissect the award procurement orders”, with race not being an issue.

He said all sourcing is 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,” Llale said.

– brians@citizen.co.za