JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Minister of Minerals and Energy, Buyelwa Sonjica, on Thursday met with Mokopane community members regarding the relocation of communities brought about by the establishment of Anglo Platinum’s (Angloplat’s) Potgietersrust Platinum Limited (PPL) mine.

Ministerial spokesperson Sputnik Ratau told Mining Weekly Online that the meeting was well-attended, with over 150 community members in attendance, and along with the issues of skills, services and grave relocations, the issues of compensation for relocation, and long-term equity were on the agenda.

A task team, initiated by the premier of Limpopo Sello Moloto, and which includes the Premiers office, the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME), the Department of Land Affairs, the community and the mining houses, dealing with the numerous and complicated issues in the area, has been established and is dealing with the matters continually.

“In the meantine this interaction must continue, and progress. When the Minister goes back, she wants to see a credible way forward tabled,” added Ratau.

The DME stated that two major issues emerged at the meeting.

The first was that a preferred and representative vehicle, that will look after the interests of the community, must be established.

Currently there is a Section 21 company that is meant to look after the interests of the community, but that company itself is a matter of contention. “Because not all of the community is in agreement with who was elected to that company, and what it does on an ongoing basis. There is also suspicion that individuals are benefitting from this,” explains Ratau.

The second major issue is that clear programmes, addressing the social and labour plans, need to be established, to deal with how developments happen within the community.

“The different communities have a similar list of gripes, so there is commonality in what needs to be done,” indicated Ratau.

The relocation project caused a frenzy in 2008, when nongovernmental organisation ActionAid released a report accusing Angloplat of human rights abuses in its relocation of communities to make way for platinum mining.

Angloplat dismissed the ActionAid report as “distressing, one-sided and inaccurate”, and released its own report, defending its position.

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) then investigated the relocation programme and found that mining operations had “adversely affected” the communities.

The world’s leading platinum producer acknowledged that the SAHRC study drew attention to some “potential hidden vulnerabilities of communities and residents involved in a complex, multi-year, multi-million rand relocation project”.

Ratau notes that the SAHRC report, which drew attention to issues such as water, sanitation, grave removals and skills transfer, has and will continue to form part of the discussions now taking place between stakeholders.

The Minister has promised to return and meet again with the affected community members from Ga-Pila, Ga-Chaba, Sekuruwe and Mohlotlo, on April 2.

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