Luphert Chilwane
28 July 2009
The Findings of Research Into the Diamond Mining Industry published yesterday by the Bench Marks Foundation - painted a gloomy picture of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance of the industry in the west coast region.
John Capel, CEO of the Bench Marks Foundation, a church-backed organisation monitoring corporate performance, said the findings contradicted mining companies' claims of success in CSR.
"Except for the Richtersveld community and to a lesser extent the people of Steinkopf, most communities on the west coast do not benefit much from the CSR programmes.
"The implementation and monitoring of mining policies also seem to be problematic. As a result, serious environmental and social problems exist throughout the region," he said.
Capel said the situation was made worse at most towns in the area by water shortages, interrupted electricity supply and road infrastructure that should be part of corporate responsibility.
The study, titled Corporate Social Responsibility in the Diamond Industry on the West Coast of SA, describes Port Nolloth, Hondeklip Bay and Kleinzee. Three companies, De Beers, Alexkor and Trans Hex, took part in the study.
The report states that despite De Beers' claims about its CSR activities, there were problems of water shortage and electricity supply in Kamieskroon, Port Nolloth and the Richtersveld, while road infrastructure remained underdeveloped.
Alexkor, a state-owned diamond company, was also not behaving like "a good corporate citizen". "Workers interviewed at Alexander Bay echoed the fact that financial predicaments were part and parcel of the agenda at the Alexkor mine."
As for Trans Hex, Hondeklip Bay people complained about the damage the company was causing to the environment.
"Some of the (Hondeklip) complaints ... may be mirrored against the poorer financial performance of companies in general in the area. The group sustained a loss of R1,5m in 2008 compared to a profit of R51,8m in the corresponding prior period."
The Bench Marks Foundation recommended co-operation between the mining companies, national and local government, NGOs, traditional leaders and communities to resolve development issues.
De Beers would discuss the findings, said spokesman Tom Tweedy.
"We are fully in agreement with the generic recommendations ... as we believe that these will enable the role players in the west coast diamond mining industry to improve the contribution that they make to the socio-economy of this region," he said.
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