Business Report writes that Lonmin on Thursday came under the spotlight amid a community protest for jobs at Bapong, next to its Marikana operations, and fresh complaints that the platinum producer was yet to comply with its social and labour plan (SLP).  

This came while heads of states and business leaders met for the World Economic Forum on Africa in Durban.  Mining Forum of SA, a non-profit organisation, advocating for the rights of mining communities, said that the protests were related to the poverty that surrounded Lonmin’s Marikana mines.  The forum’s founder, Blessings Ramoba, said Lonmin continued to disregard the implementation of the SLP, for both housing programmes and local economic development programmes.  He added that the forum had continuously engaged the Lonmin management and CE Ben Magara of over the SLP, but to no avail.  But Lonmin spokeswoman Wendy Tlou said that, while the company had met most of its SLP targets in a difficult environment, the fragility of commodity prices hindered the progression of its SLP implementation.

• Read this report by Dineo Faku in full at Business Report

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