Kolomela supports municipal service delivery
Kumba Iron Ore’s Kolomela mine made a real and lasting difference to the safety of the Airfield, Postdene, and Boichoko neighbourhoods.
The mine supported the Tsantsabane local municipality by purchasing all the required streetlight materials to repair all the defective street lights in the Kolomela housing areas of these neighbourhoods to ensure a safe and secure living environment for its residents.
Kolomela also purchased the electrical tools of the trade to enable the municipality’s technical department in order to continue with the street light maintenance as part of its infrastructure service delivery to the community.
A cherry picker was rented for two weeks to support the municipal maintenance operations. The project was done to increase visibility and improve safety in the communities.
Both the Tsantsabane local municipality and the residents of these areas benefit from this initiative. “We are working with our communities to make a real and lasting positive difference. Our innovative and ambitious Sustainable Mining Plan – which aims to build thriving communities through impactful interventions in education, health, well-being, and sustainable livelihoods – allows us to contribute positively to eradicating South Africa’s triple challenges of poverty, inequality, and unemployment. The completion of each project, such as this one, is consistent with our determination to be a trusted corporate leader in our host communities,” said George Benjamin, Kolomela mine’s Public Affairs Manager.
Many mining operations are located in rural areas, which face widespread poverty, unemployment, and high service delivery backlogs. Anglo American is collaborating with the government to address these challenges through the Municipal Capacity Development Programme (MCDP) of which this project forms part. The primary objective of this programme is to strengthen institutional capacity to enhance municipal service delivery and sustainability.
Anglo American’s partnership with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) on the MCDP demonstrates its ambition to exist alongside thriving communities, through effective public-private partnerships.
