Local community ownership through Baphalane Community Trust generates significant opportunities for local small businesses in the surrounding communities
Anglo American Platinum is pleased to announce the extension of a contract with Zizwe Batlase for the provision of strip mining services at Amandelbult Complex. A successful joint venture, Zizwe Batlase is 51% owned by the local community of Baphalane through the Baphalane Community Trust, named Batlase.
In 2016, Anglo American Platinum initiated a partnership with Zizwe Batlase through contracts for mining services at its Amandelbult Complex. This contract enables Zizwe Batlase to provide opportunities such as employment, SMME development, infrastructure development and business opportunities to local and small businesses in the community. This is the largest localised community project at Amandelbult, and will increase the mine’s host historically disadvantaged (HDSA) spend by 6%.
Zizwe was established in 2003 to form a local BBBEE company in the Eastern Bushveld Complex. It is currently a level 2 BBBEE contributor. Its vision is to create economic growth through joint ventures, procurement, employment and SMME Development.
Founder and Chairman of Zizwe Batlase, Howard Maimela, said that through the partnership between Anglo American Platinum and Baphalane Community Trust, many job opportunities are created. “We need operators for our trucks, excavators and other machinery. These are opportunities that locals can benefit from.” Anglo American Platinum's senior social performance manager at Amandelbult, Tshepo Kgasago, said: "We are proud of what has been achieved through this partnership. It is a model on how communities can be included to benefit sustainably from procurement opportunities”.
Leader of the Baphalane people, Kgosi Manotshe Ramokoka said: "We are now co-owners of a growing mining business and are now able to provide development and employment opportunities to the small businesses in our community. NGOs in our communities are also directly benefiting from the profits generated. You can see how much the standard of living in our community has improved. Our people are now able to come up with many useful proposals which will help this community prosper”. Zizwe and the Trust have developed a system which enables community members to suggest development programmes that can be funded from the profits generated by the partnership.
Anglo American strongly believes that to be productive, safe, responsible and sustainable, the operations must live alongside thriving communities – one of the three main pillars in the company’s FutureSmart MiningTM Sustainability Strategy. Through this contract, Anglo American Platinum can ensure that the community benefits. Kgasago added that through Anglo American Platinum's broader work on skills development, opportunities are provided for 18 to 35-year-old young unemployed people so that they can form part of the workforce in local mining projects such as this one. "We train welders so they can work in the community and start their own businesses. We also offer bursaries to youth to further their education and other study opportunities for adults.”
Chris Griffith, CEO of Anglo American Platinum said: “We are extremely proud of the success of this partnership and will use this as a blueprint for future procurement practices. The long-term ripple effects of this partnership have seen community residents enabled to start their own businesses, such local contractors who were trained through our programmes now building houses for orphans and child-headed families, forming part of our extended programmes to improve living conditions for communities. This is the deep and meaningful contribution that we have been working hard to create. We look forward to continuing to work with Zizwe Batlase and to continue to innovate and create long-term solutions for our host communities.