When a group of people were involved in a bakery project in Kriel they thought that poverty will be thing of the past, but it was never to be.
The group states that thy held a meeting in February 2014 in the main board room of the company. According to the group the meeting started at 09:00 and lasted till 11:00. The meeting was between them and some Exxaro mine officials. They have copies of the minutes of the meeting which stated that during the meeting it was said that one caretaker Mr Shezi was introduced to the team for future meetings.
The outside of the completely built bakery in Kriel, the bakery is supposed to be owned by a team of 14 people but it was never to be and it has stayed empty.
No minutes were read as it was their first meeting. According to them again, it was also stated in the minutes that the 14 members (the beneficiaries), will receive stipends till the Butterfield Bakery is opened for production. It was alleged that after the bakery is opened the 14 members will still receive stipends for three months and then the stipends will be stopped. The members will then depend on the profit of the bakery to supply them with salaries.
“When the civil work (construction) of the Butterfield Kriel starts the 14 members will be going for training at the Butterfield Bakery in Belfast. The training will take about two weeks. During the training the members will be accommodated in a guest house from Monday till Friday. The working hours at the bakery will be from 06:00 till 18:00. One set of PPE will be provided for the training, during the training, management of the bakery will be identified, a potential manager will be selected based on strength of the people. Follow up meetings will still continue monthly to give feedback. Beneficiaries should be on site daily until they are requested to stop by Exxaro,” explained a member of the group.
After clarifications and questions the meeting was closed by Sevha Mongwe.
The group had their hopes high after a bakery was build allegedly for them in Kriel as promised but soon they encountered problems.
The inside of the built bakery in Kriel, a group of 14 people alleged that they were promised that they will own the bakery.
None of the above agreements according to the team were fulfilled by Exxaro. After the bakery was built, there was no activity.
“We have been sent from pillar to post by Exxaro officials after they stopped our stipends. No members were sent for training as agreed upon and we were supposed to be accommodated at a guest house while we go for training. No follow up meetings were held. We have been told different stories by the officials, that the bakery was built in a wrong place, how can that be?” they asked.
A questionnaire was sent to Exxaro seeking clarity about the alleged agreement made with the group.
The group feels that Exxaro let them down as they had expected that they will keep to their promises. Opposite the completely built bakery, there is a centre built by Exxaro. The centre, a business outlet, houses a barber shop, fast food, hair salon, fresh produce, shoe repair, seamstress and a clothing shop.
A statement from Ges Myeni of Exxaro Coal Mpumalanga (New Clydesdale Colliery) stated that they entered into an agreement with Hydro CC in terms whereof Hydro would train certain members of the community (beneficiaries) in certain agricultural activities.
Opposite the built bakery, there is a centre built by Exxaro. The centre, a business outlet, houses a barber shop, fast food business, hair salon, fresh produce store, shoe repair, seamstress and a clothing shop.
In the response about the allegations raised stated that the matter was submitted to CCMA and was not in the beneficiaries’ favour, Exxaro was never the employer of the beneficiaries, The hydroponics project was stopped due to it not being sustainable and as a result beneficiaries could not continue doing any activities in the project.
“Exxaro paid the beneficiaries a stipend until September 30, 2015 as a sign of goodwill although Exxaro was only obliged to pay such stipend until February 28, 2015 as per agreement signed with Hydro CC. The stipend was utilised for travelling to attend training which was provided by Hydro CC in terms of the hydroponics project. The bakery was never established due to land rezoning issues with the municipality and New Clydesdale Colliery has been sold in 2015,” ended the statement from Exxaro.
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