Lobby group vs Mantashe

JUSTICE: MINING FORUM DRAGS MINISTER TO COURT FOR TREATING LONMIN WITH KID GLOVES

he Mining Forum of SA (MFSA) said yesterday that it was taking Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe to court, seeking to compel him to act against platinum producer Lonmin for noncompliance with the commitments made in its social labour plans (SLPs).

The matter has been set down for a hearing on October 26 by the High Court of Mahikeng in North West.

MFSA is a lobby group seeking to be an agent of transformation in the mining industry through ensuring that mining entities fully implement the Mining Charter, the Mineral Petroleum Resources Development Act, and their SLPs.

This comes after August 2017’s audits on Lonmin by the department of mineral resources found that it failed to comply with its obligations committed in its 201418 SLPs in terms of housing, local economic development, human resource development, employment equity and procurement.

In November last year, the forum called for the suspension of mining activities at Lonmin with immediate effect after the mining house failed to build the 5 500 houses for employees it had promised to build in 2006.

MFSA secretary-general Terance Kgokolo said Lonmin had not complied nor fulfilled its SLP commitments and that Mantashe has failed to take reasonable steps to enforce the social contract concluded between Lonmin and the people of South Africa.

“We place on record that, the intolerable social and economic conditions that communities surrounding Lonmin’s operations endured, could have been better addressed had Lonmin complied with its commitments in its SLPs,” Kgokolo said.

“It should be noted that the living conditions of workers and the broader community, especially when contrasted with the wealth generated by the mine, led to the MFSA approaching the High Court of Mahikeng.”

At the Marikana massacre commemoration in August, Lonmin chief executive Ben Magara said they had made significant progress in delivering their commitments to the community of Marikana with modern housing being a key focus.

Magara said Lonmin’s financial investment in housing since 2013 would reach R500 million by the end of this year. He also said that the funds had made it possible to convert all the single-sex legacy hostels into 2 162 single units and 759 family units. –