UPDATE: Community questions mine deal
Mpukunyoni community members have slammed a R350-million BBBEE mining deal from which they will benefit, saying they were not consulted.
MPUKUNYONI community members set to benefit from the R350-million mining deal announced last week have accused Somkhele mine of attempting to further its own agenda.
The groundbreaking Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) deal gives the community 20% shares in Tendele Coal Mining (Pty) Ltd but unhappy community members say they were not consulted.
According to Sifiso Dladla, Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), community members view the deal as a way for Somkhele mine to use them to benefit itself.
He said not all residents were given a cow and goat for each grave that was moved and they do not believe they will benefit from this deal.
Moreover, some Mpukunyoni Traditional Council members say they were not informed of the deal, believing only Qhina Mkhwanazi, Mining Portfolio Head, and a few others to have been involved in discussions.
Agreed channels
Tendele management confirmed all consultations and negotiations between it and the 175 000-strong community were done through the traditional council’s channels, in accordance with their 2013 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Agreed at a full council meeting in December, the deal’s structure ensures all monies go into a trust so no member can individually benefit.
Furthermore, independent trustees will oversee the trust and the projects it funds.
The deal is expected to be approved by September and Tendele will then start a long-term community engagement programme to ensure all understand its benefits. Designed to benefit the community’s youth, the deal includes a finder’s contribution of R2.4-million from Tendele, which will fund the construction of a training hall at the Mpukunyoni Community hub for trust-funded educational activities.
Regarding Dladla’s concerns of community members’ reimbursement for exhumed graves, Tendele management is confident everyone has been fully reimbursed but those in dispute are invited to voice their concerns through agreed communication channels.
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