SA mine communities often ignored in design of social plans
A study finds legislation is required to ensure miners consult local communities, follow through on their commitments, and give communities the right of veto
When companies design development programmes for areas near their operations in SA that are required to get government approval for licences, local communities are often not consulted and have no right to veto the mines, according to a group that’s lobbying for stronger regulation. In five case studies of mines ranging from platinum and coal extraction to clay, the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, based at the University of the Witwatersrand, found that most communities were unaware of the commitments companies made in the social plans, and in almost all cases those promises weren’t fulfilled. The plans, along with legislation demanding greater black ownership of assets that account for about half of the country’s exports, are supposed to be part of the post-apartheid government’s plans to reduce inequality. Mines in SA are often ringed by informal settlements housing migrant workers, while environmental damage to surrounding areas regularly threatens the livelihoods of local commu...
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