A new community trust to serve the interests of the Thabazimbi community will be established at the end of September, following a decision by the Sishen Iron Ore Company-Community Development Trust (SIOC-cdt) to terminate the activities of the existing structure.
SIOC-cdt CEO Vusani Malie says the previous Thabazimbi Community Development Forum was removed from its list of beneficiaries because of noncompliance with corporate governance standards.
“I can assure the communities of the Thabazimbi region that the activities run by the forum will continue and eventually be incorporated into the responsibilities of the new body. “The SIOC-cdt remains committed to the people of Thabazimbi, especially the communities who have been affected by the mining activities of Kumba Iron Ore,” says Malie.
The decision to terminate the Thabazimbi Forum was taken after consultation with the donor, mining major Anglo American-owned Kumba Iron Ore and the Thabazimbi local municipality, following nonadherence to good corporate governance by the Thabazimbi Forum.
“In 2012, we engaged all our beneficiary trusts with a view to introducing the scorecard to measure their performance and ensure adherence to good corporate governance. We recommended to the beneficiary trusts that they either adopt our governance policies or draft their own which conform to those of the SIOC-cdt,” says SIOC-cdt communications executive Baldwin Matsimela, adding that they were also required to hold an elective general meeting in order to empower the community, who are the ultimate beneficiaries, to appoint the trustees to represent them.
He notes that, during this time, the SIOC-cdt received complaints from the local community claiming that the forum was not run in their best interests.