BusinessLive reports that most residents of eight mining communities that were surveyed by ActionAid SA said that they derived no benefit from having a mine in their area and that its proximity brought health and environmental problems instead.  

This was despite the stated intention of mining legislation and the Mining Charter for communities to benefit from social labour plans, which are the major drivers of corporate social responsibility.  The results of the survey indicated that there has been little trickle-down of community development as promised by the government and the industry.   ActionAid released the results of the survey, the Social Audit Baseline Report, on Tuesday while mining companies were participating in the high-powered Mining Indaba nearby.  Of those interviewed, 79% indicated that there was no benefit from the mines at all, while 8% felt that the mine only brought negative benefits such as sickness, dispossession and damages.  Only 13% felt there were positive benefits such as clinics, roads and employment.  The power of communities to decide on their wellbeing, governance and developmental paths has been stripped away, the report found.

• Read Linda Ensor’s report on the survey full at BusinessLive
• Read too, What do mines really mean for SA communities? at Fin24
• And also, Mining brings no benefit, say 79% of community members in audit, at Daily Maverick

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page