“When a Social and Labour Plan project fail”

23/05/2020
Monametse Village, Atok
Story by Gilbert Moela

Who is to blame; the mining company or the community?

Residents of Mosotsi village, a neighbourhood in a dusty Fetakgomo-tubatse Local Municipality where a sizeable number of the community used to depend on mining income and now depending only on government grants and pensions after the closest mine was put on Care and Maintenance are now suffering the consequences of a failed Social and Labour Plan project which was meant to mitigate the socio-economic consequences faced by the community after the mine was put on Care and Maintenance.

 Bokoni Platinum Mine has in 2018 after it has announced it plans for Care and Maintenance also announced its plans to fulfil its SLP obligations which includes Monametse Skills Development Center and Mosotsi Poulty and Crop Farming of which none of them has failed with one project still not operating even though a handover ceremony took place. A handover ceremony which residents of Monametse Village sees as a box ticking exercise.

 On the other hand a Poultry and Farming which operated for 6 months after opening even after Bokoni Platinum Mine have clearly stipulated that it will support the project financially at a sum of R50 000 for 3 consecutive years. News on the streets is that after Bokoni Platinum Mine backtracked on its SLP obligations they have seen members of the project helping themselves from the proceedings of the project with others blaming Bokoni Platinum Mine for failing to help them do feasibility study and identify and penetrate the right market. Now all the two projects remain closed and it’s only about time thugs help themselves to project equipment and other valuables.