JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) has pledged R3-million to support its local communities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The investment will provide about 2 500 food hampers and hygiene care packs to the needy and vulnerable communities over a three-month period.

About 67 e-learning educational support tools for matric learners and educators have also been supplied, alongside the supply of body heat screening devices.

The midtier platinum group metals (PGMs) miner hopes to support the continued active screening of households for Covid-19 prevalence by its own team to support government’s screening efforts.

RBPlat is also assisting with the sanitisation of taxis that transport its employees to and from work.

Further, it has also made provision for a 100-bed self-isolation facility for RBPlat employees that are not able to self-isolate, as well as a 24-bed quarantine facility.

“We will offer further support to our community members with a treatment site for people that have tested positive for Covid-19, to supplement the already overburdened government resources,” RBPlat CEO Steve Phiri says.

With “more than mining” underpinning the company’s ethos, RBPlat believes community support is “imperative” during this time of economic and social need.

This led to the miner engaging with local community leaders to better understand the communities’ urgent needs owing to the pandemic. It has subsequently identified projects that will enable the miner “to make a real difference” in its communities, while simultaneously complementing the initiatives of government and other private sector companies.

Some of the projects mentioned above have already been implemented in RBPlat’s nearest communities during the past few days.

According to Phiri, the mining company has also embarked on an intensive education and awareness campaign for its employees, as well as for community members on measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, as RBPlat believes “increased knowledge will improve self-care and good hygiene, which is the first line of defence against the virus”.

“We believe in ‘people first’ and keeping our people safe is important to us,” he emphasises, explaining that this means ensuring a safe and healthy working environment for employees in line with the regulations of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, and ensuring that RBPlat’s operations follow strict health and safety protocols of screening, testing and providing all the necessary support to ensure good hygiene while at work.

“It also means providing immediate support for our communities during this difficult period through these identified projects. We recognise that, to make a real impact in our communities, we have to have a shared responsibility and work together with government and other private sector companies, to support our communities during this time of Covid-19 pandemic,” says Phiri.