Locals must benefit from mining in South Africa

AFTER more than 100 years of mining in South Africa, which saw the extraction of billions of dollars of diamonds, the communities in the West Coast region around Alexander Bay were dogged by unemployment, substance abuse, high suicide rates and lack of infrastructure development, a new research study by the Bench Marks Foundation has shown.

Bench Marks, which is an independent organisation that monitors corporate performance in the context of social responsibility, has called upon mining companies and the government to ensure that local communities secure benefits from mining activities.John Capel, the chief executive of Bench Marks, said after the launch of the study, titled ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in the Diamond Mining Industry on the West Coast of South Africa’, that it was necessary for the government and the mining industry to act before it was too late.He also called on the industry and the government to review the situation that allowed high-profile politicians to assume extremely well-paying positions in the corporate world.’South Africa is probably the only country where several former premiers suddenly emerge as leaders in the corporate world in minerals in which their provinces specialise,’ he said, singling out former premiers Manne Dipico in diamonds, Popo Molefe in platinum and Tokyo Sexwale in gold.He questioned how senior government officials could be expected to act in the interests of their communities when they were eyeing a mining sector job.Capel said it was important for the government to look at how communities could be more effectively involved in ownership of mining companies.The study found that mining activities over the years had severely altered the communities’ landscape because water supplies, marine and plant life had all been compromised. In addition, because of diamond-mining activities, local communities only had access to a 3km stretch of coastline for fishing.Towns on the West Coast also suffered from water shortages and electricity supply problems, the study found.A spokesman for De Beers, Sakhile Ngcobo, said the company felt the study had not taken sufficient note of the work De Beers had done in rehabilitation and restoration of the areas.Ngcobo said roads and infrastructure within the area owned by De Beers were very good and those outside were the government’s responsibility.- Business Report