Sokhulu and RBM agree to implement revision of trusts
WHILE court proceedings initiated in November 2022 are continuing against the Mbonambi, Mkhwanazi and Dube trusts, Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) announced on Friday that agreement had been reached with the Sokhulu trusts.
Together they will revise the existing community trust deeds and supplement the board of trustees, to enable the trusts to build on existing projects with a strengthened capacity to deliver long-term broad-based empowerment of the Sokhulu community.
“Established in 2009 as part of RBM’s broad-based black economic empowerment transaction, the community trusts were developed to enable members of the host communities proximate to RBM’s operations to benefit from an ownership interest in the company,” said RBM.
“Trustees of the Sokhulu Community Development Trust and Sokhulu Public Benefit
Trust, together with Inkosi Mthiyane and members of the traditional council, entered negotiations with RBM to consider how to strengthen the trusts’ ability to deliver on their objectives.
“Working together, various improvements have been identified to align the trust governance structure and project delivery tools with current best practice.
“The focus remains on the delivery of broad-based public benefit to the members of the Sokhulu community, as informed by the needs of the community itself.”
The amended trust deeds have been lodged with the Master of the High Court and RBM has withdrawn the court proceedings against the Sokhulu trusts.
RBM will provide immediate funding to the Sokhulu Trusts to enable it to continue funding programmes in support of education and skills training, which directly benefit the Sokhulu community.