Anglo American’s coal business in South Africa has announced a R28m (£1.5m) investment in the strengthening of institutional and human capacity for improved service delivery in eMalahleni, where nine of the coal business’s ten mines are situated.
This includes a state-of-the-art call centre, electrical switchgear, 20 light delivery vehicles, a crane truck and an aerial platform vehicle with a combined value of R17m (£948,000).
Our head of corporate affairs, mining and property rights, Bheki Khumalo, handed these items over to Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza and eMalahleni executive mayor Salome Sithole in a ceremony which took place on 26 March.
This donation complements Anglo American’s existing national municipal capacity-building programme undertaken in partnership with the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the Investment Climate Facility for Africa. This initiative aims to create fully functioning and sustainable municipalities capable of delivering quality basic services in an efficient and cost effective manner.
Our coal business has contributed R11m (£613,000) to the R120m (£6.6m) municipal capacity-building programme, specifically aimed at assisting the eMalahleni Local Municipality with the development of human capacity and the strengthening of revenue collection systems.
Commenting on the donation, Councillor Salome Sithole said: “This infrastructure will greatly assist us in achieving improved response times in the delivery of essential services for the people living in our area while the state-of-the-art call centre will be instrumental in providing an important link with them. On behalf of the municipality, we would like to thank Anglo American for this crucial and most welcome support.”
Additionally, Themba Mkhwanazi, CEO of the South African-based coal business emphasised the importance of partnership between the mining industry and local governments and communities.
“The creation of a better South Africa can only be realised through teamwork, partnership and collaboration, which is why we continue to work hand-in-hand with our many stakeholders – including local government. By strengthening institutional capacity for the delivery of improved services, we believe that we are making a positive contribution to the health of local economies and are promoting the sustainability of our host communities.”
The handover took place at a gathering of mining industry stakeholders who held discussions around the formulation of a holistic approach for sustainable growth and the continued wellbeing of communities situated close to mining sites.
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