eMBALENHLE – The executive committee members of the eMbalenhle Community Development Forum (ECDF) said the Sasol Ikusasa Project is not addressing the needs of residents in the township.
The members issued a statement with contact details of Messrs Jabu Zwane, chairman, Zakhele Masilela, secretary, and Sibusiso Maseko, spokesman, of the forum.
They said Sasol has a tendency to implement programmes that benefit the company instead of the residents.
The members alleged that companies owned by locals and young people are apparently sidelined for the project while companies preferred by Sasol are given the jobs.
The project is worth R100 million and Sasol has partnered with the Govan Mbeki Municipality to improve the area to enhance development.
The forum comprises members from various political groups, businesses, home based care centres, churches, traditional healers’ associations, schools, community policing forums and community organisations.
It came as a result of the march organised by members of the ANC Youth League on 25 May 2012 to the Govan Mbeki Municipality, Sasol and Megabus.
Several meetings were held with Sasol after the march and this resulted in the launch of the forum to encourage organisations to speak in one voice with Sasol and other industries.
The members said the meetings which they held with Sasol stakeholder relations were “fruitless and full of rhetoric” because nothing has changed.
“All the issues we have raised with Sasol have still not been addressed and there is no plan in place that seeks to suggest solutions to them,” they said.
The members said among those issues that Sasol has failed to provide, are the lack of jobs and learnership opportunities for locals.
They said local businesses are not given preferences in the procurement processes of Sasol, especially young people.
The members said the contribution of Sasol through its Corporate Social Investment and the Social Labour Plan are not addressing the needs of residents.
They have taken the decision at their first meeting of the year on 17 January to hold meetings with residents and stakeholders to get a new mandate based on the progress made by Sasol after the march.
Sasol responds
eMBALENHLE – Mr Alex Anderson, Sasol Group Media Manager, responded to eMbalenhle Community Developmental Forum’s (ECDF) statement.
“Sasol maintains open lines of communication with its stakeholders.
“Through regular engagements with community stakeholders, Sasol addresses specific concerns directly.
“Sasol takes note of the concerns and issues raised by the ECDF.
“Sasol is fully aware of the socio-economic challenges within the communities in which it operates.
“To ensure that there is effective sustainable development of our communities, we partner with government and local community stakeholders, so that key areas of development are identified that will provide as wide a benefit to the community as a whole.”
Sasol and the Mpumalanga Provincial Government entered into a memorandum of understanding so that collectively we can identify and implement projects in key focus areas, such as:
* To enhance human capital development with an emphasis on, but not limited to, considering the refocus of Sasol’s bursary scheme to appropriately target Mpumalanga, improving mathematics, science and technology in basic education, skills development particularly for unemployed “out of school” young people and providing relevant, technical expertise and support to a faculty of science, engineering and technology for the established Mpumalanga University.
* To develop the sustainability of the Govan Mbeki Municipality in support of Sasol’s Vision 2050 that will ensure that Sasol continues to operate in a sustainable manner for the long term, by focusing largely on basic infrastructure, social infrastructure and economic infrastructure in the context of integrated human settlement.
* Develop and promote small businesses and cooperatives in order to achieve economic development, focusing on capacity building and enhanced procurement expenditure with particular focus to previously disadvantaged groups, Sasol’s vehicle for small, medium and micro enterprises development is Chemcity.
* To ensure an environment conducive to Sasol doing business without compromising the legal fundamentals of sustainable development.
“With regard to ensuring that we maximise the employment of the local community, Sasol has partnered with the Department of Labour to access local labour.
“Every attempt is made to offer employment and business opportunities to the local communities.”
Mr Anderson said an example is the employment strategy for the September planned shutdown which favours local labour:
* Recruitment and appointment preference is given to residents of Govan Mbeki municipal area.
* 100 per cent of general workers need to be from local communities.
* 80 per cent of semi-skilled employees need to be local.
* Only after all available competent resources residing within Govan Mbeki municipal area are exhausted may contractors extend their recruitment to employees residing in the rest of South Africa.
“Sasol has specifically targeted black-owned and black-empowered companies to do the work to be undertaken for Ikusasa.
“Some additional context to our transformation agenda, Sasol has a Level 3 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment status that we achieved in September last year.
“It is the result of unwavering focus on equity ownership, enterprise and socio-economic development, employment equity, skills development and preferential procurement.
“Sasol Mining has undertaken and is currently implementing a range of projects that contribute to the sustainable development of the communities in which we operate.”
Here are some of the projects undertaken by Sasol Mining:
Foot bridges (About R1 million invested in 2010).
* Foot bridge 1 enables community members to safely access the local community clinic (the path used to flood in the rainy season).
* Foot bridge 2 enables the community to safely cross the Welas River and access schools, clinics, shopping and local factories.
Sewage trucks
* Two sewage suction trucks were handed to Charl Cilliers.
* Each truck cost R1.5 million.
Leandra Fire Station
* Leandra Fire Station will be upgraded to enable effective fire control.
* Sasol Mining to invest about R8 million.
* Construction should have begun August.
* Two new fire trucks, four light delivery vehicles and other firefighting equipment will be included.
eMzinoni Clinic
* eMzinoni Clinic upgraded beyond initial scope to ensure the clinic provided wider healthcare services, such as dental, overnight care, consulting rooms, wound dressing rooms, social services and support services such as admin rooms, waiting rooms and dispensary.
* Infrastructure such as sewage water and power upgraded, as well as emergency water supply, oxygen supply area.
* Sasol Mining invested R11 million (initial budget was R7.7 million).
Storm water drainage system in Lebohang
* A total of 38 households and a secondary school housing 1 500 pupils benefited from the project.
* Construction was finished on 30 April 2012 at a cost of R1.2 million.
The project was handed over to the Govan Mbeki Municipality on 25 June.
Kinross water reservoir
* The Govan Mbeki Municipality built and commissioned a five million litre water reservoir in 2009.
Even though it is fairly new, before it came into use it was discovered that it was leaking and if used it could pose danger to the community.
* Sasol Mining will invest R2.8 million to repair and seal the reservoir, which began in February last year with a study of the reservoir structure and causes of the leaks. The work was finished in August.
Education initiatives (focused on building capacity in mining-related activity)
* R15 million invested in learnership training for mining-related skills development.
* 25 bursaries allocated yearly to the local community.
