Background | Project Objectives | Description
PROJECT STATUS: ACTIVE
PARTNER/CLIENT NAME: Lonmin, Bapo Ba Mogale Traditional Authority and the Madibeng Municipality.
COUNTRY/REGION: South Africa, Africa
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOCUS: Capacity Building, Community Engagement, Gender, Joint Stakeholder Planning and Implementation.
MINING SECTOR: Mining
BACKGROUND
Large-scale mining has been active in South Africa for over 100 years, and yet many local areas have little to show from this huge extraction of wealth. Cognizant of this history, Lonmin, a platinum mine in South Africa, has embarked in a program to transform its relationship with the communities in which it operates. Lonmin is working with its community partners to create and realise a forty-year vision for a safe and prosperous community. CommDev is engaged with Lonmin on the following project components: 1) Working with Municipal and Traditional Authories and 2) Lonmin women in mining.
Apart from Lonmin, two other major stakeholders operate in the area surrounding Lonmin’s operations: the Bapo Ba Mogale Traditional Authority, and the Madibeng Municipality. The Bapo Ba Mogale owns land on which Lonmin operates and are the beneficiaries of a royalty revenue stream from Lonmin. The Madibeng Municipality, like other municipalities in South Africa, is charged with the provision of water and electricity, and the construction of roads, community centers, and other public goods for the entire municipality.
In order to maximize its efforts, Lonmin recognizes the benefit of working more closely with the other key stakeholders in the area. The immediate area of the Greater Lonmin community is relatively small, approximately 300,000 people, and hence can be impacted by a few, well implemented projects.
CommDev is also working with Lonmin to promote workforce transformation and community development. One key focus of IFC's work is to help Lonmin to meet its Women in Mining targets as required by the South African Mining Charter. Since the program began in October 2007, Lonmin has hired over 500 additional women, thereby increasing its female workforce by 42%. CommDev is being asked to support IFC's current work with Lonmin on 13 Women in Mining initiatives including building female change houses, updating policies and procedures, and implementing an alternative job placement system for pregnant women who work underground.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The goal of this project is to provide stakeholder capacity building technical assistance and demonstrate the positive effects that well planned mining investments can have on local economic development.
Specific objectives include:
- Build the capacity of each of the three stakeholder groups to increase their ability to effectively plan and implement community development projects;
- Create a coordinating committee of the Bapo Ba Mogale, the Madibeng Municipality, and Lonmin to work together collaboratively;
- The goal of both of these interventions is over the course of three years to realize:
- 60+ projects, worth over US $80 million planned in coordination
- 40+ projects, worth over US $45 million implemented in coordination
- Create job opportunities for women in Lonmin mines
Specific community outcomes for the 300,000 residents (improved access to clean water, improved sanitation, etc. will be determined in the course of the project).
DESCRIPTION
Municipal and Traditional Authorities:
Bapo Traditional Authority
- Assess Bapo Ba Mogale's needs, strengths, and future development goals;
- Develop the capacity of the Bapo Traditional Authority including strengthening council functioning, operational procedures; and internal decision making processes;
- Conduct a community based planning exercise to priorities for the community.
Madibeng Municipality
- Assess the Municipalities needs, strengths, and future development goals;
- Conduct specific capacity building interventions to assist with project roll-out in the Lonmin area.
Lonmin
- Facilitate the reorganization of Lonmin’s community development programs;
- Facilitate Lonmin to structure its community interventions and interface with stakeholders.
Joint Stakeholder Planning and Engagement
- Develop a coordinating committee consisting of the four stakeholders;
- Hold quarterly planning sessions to discuss project plans and implementation progress;
- Ensure that coordinating committee is directly responsive to the community through each of the stakeholder groups;
- Provide capacity building to group to delivery capacity of each stakeholder group.
Lonmin Women in Mining:
- Help Lonmin meet its Women in Mining targets as required by the South African Mining Charter;
- Build female change houses;
- Update policies and procedures;
- Implement an alternative job placement system for pregnant women who work underground.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
- Lonmin Women in Mining: Lonmin has hired over 500 additional women
- Lonmin Women in Mining: The female workforce has increased by 42%
- Stakeholder Planning & Engagement results to-date:
- 24 projects worth US$6.1m planned in coordination by 4 stakeholders.
- 5 projects worth US$2.5m implemented in coordination by 4 stakeohlders.
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