JOHANNESBURG (
Business Day) -- However, its report, released yesterday, fell short of blaming the mining giant outright.
The company has denied any wrongdoing and insists it exceeded minimum compliance required by law by spending more than R794 million on new houses, resettlement allowances, civic amenities and infrastructure, translating into R830,000 per household.
“Per capita expenditure far exceeds even government’s, so let’s give credit where it’s due,” said Anglo Platinum spokeswoman Mary-Jane Morifi.
“In this tough economic climate, where the price of platinum is trading well below $1,000/oz, our company may not always be in the position to contribute R7.5 billion (as it did last year) towards the national treasury in taxes, or to justify to shareholders our significant investment in social economic development.”
Conflicts over relocations have sometimes turned violent and take place against the backdrop of several clashes in the last year between police, mine security and communities demanding a bigger stake in mines on their land and a greater say over development funds.
The SAHRC report, couched in muted language, expressed concern over perceptions that water supplies to a splinter group of families refusing to move were cut and graves were not properly relocated.
It also criticised PPL for delegating responsibility for negotiating with the community to non-profit companies that lacked transparency and accountability, and said traditional authorities controlling millions in development funds had failed to co-operate during its investigation.
“There were definitely human rights violations,” commission chairman Jody Kollapen told Business Day. “The question is, who was responsible?”
The mine, contractors, service providers, local government and community structures had all failed the villagers, he said.
The commission launched its investigation after receiving a report from anti-poverty lobby group Action Aid earlier this year that alleged thousands of villagers had lost their land through suspect relocation agreements.
The commission’s report contained few substantive recommendations, but Kollapen said the commission hoped to facilitate the revival of a defunct task team spearheaded by the office of Limpopo Premier Sello Moloto.
The day before, Moloto’s office released a scathing report that stressed mining law did not go far enough in ensuring community benefits, and calling for a review that included mandatory inclusion of local equity when the government issued mining licences.
It also branded structures such the community non-profit companies at PPL as illegitimate, paternalistic and lacking legitimacy. “Their independence is questionable because they are directly financed by the mines and in meetings we attended they always side (with) and support the standpoints of the mines,” it said.
Anglo Platinum declined to comment on the premier’s report until it received a copy, but denied that paying for services provided by the non-profits represented a conflict of interest.
