Speaker
Description
The history of large-scale mining in South Africa stretches back more than 160 years. For more than a hundred of these years, Anglo American has been a major actor in this space, not only generating a large slice of the country’s corporate and personal income tax, but also providing (1) livelihoods and positive life chances to hundreds of thousands of South Africans, (2) the economic lifeblood of mining towns and regions throughout the country, and (3) significant returns to its shareholders, including large numbers of retirees and those dependent on pay-outs from life and disability insurances. Deeply mindful of the fact that it emerged during colonial times and expanded its business under the deeply unfair Apartheid era, the company has since the advent of democracy in 1994, sought to (1) correct the massive imbalances these unjust systems created, and (2) play an active part in steering the country from its torrid past and building a truly democratic state based on the values of freedom, democracy, and justice.
In order to operate and make the contributions that it has been making, is capable of making, and wants to make, the company is dependent on a set of (1) national, provincial, and local governance, (2) social fabric, (3) infrastructural, (4) basic service provision, (5) logistical, and (6) settlement qualities/requirements. Over the course of the last two decades, several of these ‘foundational requirements’ have come under pressure, been neglected, and/or become fractured, compromising the performance of the company, both risking its operations and the local and national contributions it is capable of making.
In response to these conditions, the company introduced the Municipal Capability and Partnership Programme (MCPP) in the eight ‘mining town ecosystems’ (MTEs) in which it is active, with the multiple aims of (1) supplementing and filling hard, technical planning, engineering and financial skills/capacity gaps in municipalities, (2) breaking down longstanding and often deep levels of mistrust and distrust between stakeholders, including mining companies, municipal councillors and officials, traditional leaders and community members and leaders, (3) building the confidence and competence of stakeholders to take on, and overcome the many challenges their MTEs are facing – both in and through their individual and their collective capacities and actions, and (4) establishing partnerships and ‘development compacts’, and supporting the diverse actors in these structures to co-construct and establish shared future visions for their respective MTEs, adjust their priorities, plans and budgets in accordance with these visions, and initiate the necessary actions to realise these visions. Core to the programme has been the provision of hands-on support to the MTEs in the form of on-site planners, development practitioners, engineers, and financial experts.
The authors of this paper have all been part of the programme, some since its inception more than four years ago. In this paper, the authors both (1) reflect on the many, varied actor engagements and experiences they had, and (2) endeavour to draw tentative connections to theoretical perspectives on actor/stakeholder interactions. While deeply steeped in unique South African conditions, the connections to the world of theory should be of interest to a wider audience.
References
Nel, V. & Oranje, M., 2021. Planning in the Dark. In: F. Obeng-Odoom, ed. Coal and Energy in South Africa: Considering a Just Transition. Bloemfontein: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 193-204.
Rogerson, C., 2012. Mining-Dependent Localities in South Africa: The State of Partnerships for Small Town Local Development. Urban Forum, Volume 23, pp. 107-132.
Ramolobe, K.S., 2023, ‘The dynamics of traditional leaders’ relationship with municipal councillors and service delivery’, Journal of Local Government Research and Innovation 4(0), a95. https://doi.org/10.4102/jolgri. v4i0.95.
Marais, Lochner. (2022). The Social Impacts of Mine Closure in South Africa Housing Policy and Place Attachment. Routledge: London.
Ndlovu, T. (2023). The confluence of the state, local municipality and traditional authority in land governance. Public Affairs Research Institute.
Ramadass, S.D., Sambasivan, M. and Xavier, J.A., 2018. Collaboration outcomes in a public sector: impact of governance, leadership, interdependence and relational capital. Journal of Management and Governance, 22, pp.749-771.
Hamann, R., 2004. Corporate social responsibility, partnerships, and institutional change: The case of mining companies in South Africa. Natural Resource Forum , Issue 28, pp. 279-290.
| Keywords | Mining TownEcosystem; Capability building and strengthening of partnerships; Development Compacts |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
