Shabangu: Mines must give back to communities

Mining companies have a responsibility to plough back profits into the communities in which they operate, Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said.

“When we grant a company a licence to mine the wealth of our country, that company has to table a social and labour plan,” said the minister in a statement issued on Sunday.

“These plans require that companies invest in and improve the conditions of communities in the areas where they operate.”

The ministry issued the statement after Shabangu attended a handing-over ceremony of an early childhood development centre to the community of KwaNzimakwe near Port Edward on Saturday.

The centre is to run as a public -private partnership between government departments, a cement company and the area’s municipality.

“Future generations of mining engineers and geologists must come from previously disadvantaged communities.

“That is part of why we fought for democracy in South Africa, to give children the chance of achieving what they could only dream of before,” she said.—Sapa