In South Africa, if mining projects are located on traditionally owned land and/or the mining companies are partially owned by the traditional authority, it is imperative that communication between the traditional leaders and communities is aligned. Mining companies have to balance the needs of multiple stakeholders.
Examples of some difficult situations that arise are given below:
- Traditional hierarchy: A traditional entity is led by a king, who owns a portion of the mining company operating on their land. The communities are governed by local traditional councillors. Theoretically, communication should run from the communities through the councillors to the king. If this channel is skewed, communities may use the mining companies to attack the traditional leadership and municipal officials, to realise the social change.
- Traditional land issues: When traditional entities own land where mining activities take place, it can be extremely difficult to approach these communities and seek their input into projects. Communities tend to regard the land as theirs as part of a traditional authority, disregarding the hierarchy.
Rising demands about the roles mines should play in society compound these challenges. The government increasingly expects mining companies to fulfil social needs such as providing basic services, education and health care. Local communities also expect mining companies to deliver improvements to social infrastructure, services and livelihoods.
Under these circumstances, it is important that there is transparency. Communities must be confident that their interests are understood and being addressed.
For mining projects, the environmental and water permitting process provides a stakeholder engagement platform that traditional communities do not normally have.
It is essential to understand the stakeholder profile and the relationship between the communities and the traditional authority. Expectations should be laid out and clearly defined before the engagement process begins.
Issues and conflicts are increasingly framed by human rights issues. It is important that companies address human rights concerns raised during their operations and endeavour to improve the livelihoods of affected communities.
Legacy issues cannot be avoided in the stakeholder engagement process. These should be intensely investigated so they do not derail the engagement process and to identify opportunities to manage or resolve these legacy issues.
SRK adopts a structured and strategic approach that allows for smooth exchange of information between parties. SRK profiles the stakeholder environment which informs aspects of the management strategy that needs to be adopted.
