Johannesburg – Community activists representing the views of the mining-affected communities in KwaZulu-Natal’s north coast say legitimate beneficiaries of mining royalties continue to be sidelined, with traditional councils and mafia-style groupings said to be calling the shots in trust funds worth millions of rand.
Mlindeni Zungu told Sunday World that KwaMbonambi village under the King Cetshwayo district is one community that was yet to benefit meaningfully from the mining proceeds, which had been released four years ago by Richards Bay Minerals (RBM).
“There are no proper systems in place to ensure that there is greater accountability and that trust funds go towards community upliftment projects. Trustees are often hand-picked by traditional leaders and their business associates. In our case, about R74-million was allocated to a community trust.
[membership level=”1″]
“Those who were key members of the trust looted the funds through fictitious beneficiaries. Poor villagers were left high and dry,” said Zungu. He said initially, disgruntled residents had called for a forensic investigation into the affairs of the trust, but because of death threats and intimidation, they had to back down.
“Residents are terrified because those calling for transparency and for financial records to be made public are attacked at their homes.
There is also a culture of assassinating community leaders and those deemed as vocal.” The villagers’ woes are exacerbated by an unresolved and deadly contestation over the rightful heir to the Mbuyazi throne that has remained vacant since 2006.
These developments come hot on the heels of an anplight of poor communities will remain unchanged unless drastic measures are adopted to eradicate rogue elements using trust funds as their get-rich-quick schemes. “It’s all about good governance, monitoring and proper financial reporting.
The community must also have a say in how they would want their funds to be utilised. As it stands, the residents are at the mercy of tribal councils who appoint their families and friends to run the trusts,” said Mpanza.
In a report titled Improving Transparency and Accountability in the Flow of Benefits to Mining-Affected Communities, civil society organisation Corruption Watch notes that because of endemic corruption, poor communities remain spectators in trust funds meant for their benefit.
RBM managing director Werner Duvenhage said the purpose of the trust funds were to deliver meaningful and substantiable projects that will uplift the communities across all the four host tribal councils.
“In 2009, as part of its BEE transaction, RBM established community trusts for its four host communities to receive dividend payments for the purpose of supporting broad-based community upliftment,” said Duvenhage.
Villagers cheated out of millions Traditional leaders misallocating communities’ mining royalties Werner Duvenhage, managing director of RBM announcement by RBM, owned by mineral giants Rio Tinto, that it had released in excess of R130-million in trust funds to four tribal councils in the area.
The intended beneficiaries are KwaSokhulu community who have been allocated R18 732 353, KwaDube R19 624 661, KwaMbonambi R19 070 517, and KwaMkhwanazi R74 170 924. Despite this announcement, another community leader, Lungani Mpanza, said the plight of poor communities will remain unchanged unless drastic measures are adopted to eradicate rogue elements using trust funds as their get-rich-quick schemes.
“It’s all about good governance, monitoring and proper financial reporting. The community must also have a say in how they would want their funds to be utilised.
As it stands, the residents are at the mercy of tribal councils who appoint their families and friends to run the trusts,” said Mpanza.
In a report titled Improving Transparency and Accountability in the Flow of Benefits to Mining-Affected Communities, civil society organisation Corruption Watch notes that because of endemic corruption, poor communities remain spectators in trust funds meant for their benefit.
RBM managing director Werner Duvenhage said the purpose of the trust funds were to deliver meaningful and substantiable projects that will uplift the communities across all the four host tribal councils.
“In 2009, as part of its BEE transaction, RBM established community trusts for its four host communities to receive dividend payments for the purpose of supporting broadbased community upliftment,” said Duvenhage.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
Sunday World
[/membership] [pmpro_signup submit_button=”Register” level=”1″ login=”1″ redirect=”referrer” short=”false” title=”Register to view Exclusive Content” short=”true” custom_fields=”true”]
