Impact on Communities

The impact that mines and mining can have on communities living nearby specific operations underscores the crucial responsibility the ACMP member companies have towards helping improve such communities’ welfare. This includes enhancing their lifestyles and providing socioeconomic programmes that offer them opportunities of upliftment. To date, all ACMP member companies have fulfilled this responsibility admirably. All companies have provided numerous inputs in many forms. These include education and training programmes, the development of skills, the provision of amenities and facilities and partnering communitybased organisations in order to build local economies independent of the cement manufacturing industry.

A few salient examples illustrating the variety of assistance from our members include the following:

NPC-CIMPOR

• Established a three-year long, ‘Foundations Of Learning’ programme. Here, 40 top maths and science female schoolchildren from disadvantaged schools surrounding NPC-CIMPOR’s factories in KZN will undertake advanced tuition in these core subjects for a period of a week a year. Along with the DME, this programme has been advanced as a means to assist greater female participation in the mining industry.

• Has supported the NPO Project Build for the past 12 years, an organisation committed to building educational facilities, particularly classrooms for local communities throughout KZN. To date NPCCIMPOR’s contribution has been valued at more than R2-million with the placement of more than 3000 children in classrooms.

• As an extension of this project NPC-CIMPOR, with the support of the provincial Dept. of Education, has expanded this support to incorporate an ‘Adopt-a-School’ project. Aside from committing itself to a 5-year programme to helping uplift various needy schools, the company has donated some R500 -00 for the provision of all the ablution facilities needed for six such schools along the KZN South Coast.

• Along with Idwala Carbonates, financed the entire construction cost of the Ezinqoleni Information Centre in the Oribi Gorge on the lower KZN South Coast. The centre, built opposite the company’s Simuma factory, was constructed as a means to stimulate both community arts and crafts (local economies) as well as to stimulate tourism in the region.

Afrisam
 

• Afrisam has an active CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programme and invests substantial amounts in the communities within which they operate.

• Sponsors two entrepreneurial training facilities for unemployed women from the nearby Dobsonville community at their Kutlwanong facility on the company’s Roodepoort premises. The facility, which began in 2000, caters for sewing and catering skills and 2006 saw the graduation of 20 students from both courses.

• Has continued with its highly successful, 4-year long Tshimologo hyproponics project, run by members of the Itsoseng township near Lichtenburg in the North West Province. In order to help create jobs for these nearby residents (from whom the company has drawn

• considerable labour), Holcim has sponsored the building of the various tunnels and contributed money by paying ‘Skills for Africa’ to provide training on how to grow vegetables PPC.

• Built a pension pay-out point in Mokgalalwaneng to the value of R500 000. Built a community centre, incorporating a creche facility and a craft centre for the Riebeek Kasteel community in the Western Cape.

• Supported and sponsored the Young Concrete Sculptor Awards towards the development of young artists;

• Donated two new, hand-operated concrete mixers to the Soweto Blind Brickmakers, situated in Orlando East, to help realise its expansion

• plans. The project has grown from an initial three volunteers to 14, all of whom receive training and skills development;

Lafarge

Lafarge channels its experience and technical skills with building materials into sustainable development projects for South African communities. With regard to housing, this means focusing on giving underprivileged communities the skills to carry on building and starting businesses, as well as, in some instances, donating building equipment and materials.

The Company has partnership agreements with:
 

• Habitat for Humanity: Lafarge was a major donator of building materials and a provider of enthusiastic employees who volunteered their services for housing projects in Sherwood (Durban) and Mamelodi(Tshwane).

• The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC): Lafarge is involved in major SA Government housing development initiatives at Cosmo City, Bela Bela and Witbank. While sponsoring building materials and equipment, Lafarge also sponsors the training of disadvantaged youths and women in building and business skills.

• In 2006, The Women For Housing (WFH) organisation hosted Women’s Build Week and during this programme, Lafarge gave on-the-job

• training and experience in construction to about 30 women from Women for Housing, who are aspiring to develop construction businesses.