JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South Africa's Mineworkers Development Agency (MDA) and non-governmental organisation TEBA Development have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), committing the two parties to pursue a potential merger and form a single development organisation to provide services in the mining, construction and energy industries.

This would allow the development agency to provide a more comprehensive service to stakeholders, increase collaboration on development issues between government, industry and organised labour, create more efficient resource utilisation and an improved skills base, the Chamber of Mines noted in a statement on Thursday. 

“This proposed merger will enable us not only to increase our footprint, but also to play an even greater role in facilitating integrated sustainable development in South Africa and our neighbouring countries” MDA CEO Sifiso Ndwandwe stated.

The prospect of a merger was first raised in the wage negotiations between the National Union of Mineworkers and the gold and coal producers in 2007.

At the time, some companies in these sectors had committed themselves to supporting an integrated development agency and giving it an opportunity to tender for projects in areas where the agency would be active in line with their developmental objectives.

“This decision is an important one for us as it provides the basis for the viability of such a merged entity.  The signing of this MoU is an exciting development as a merger is only feasible if it results in better services to the communities with which we work, and on a larger scale”, TEBA Development MD David Cooper said.

TEBA Development is an NGO, which aimed to improve the living conditions and livelihoods of communities that provide labour to the mining industry.