Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu has called on mining companies to ensure that they make a positive contribution to communities across the country.
The Minister was speaking at a ceremony this weekend where she handed over an Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre to the community of KwaNzimakwe near Port Edward on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast.
The Princess Nombuso Early Childhood Development Centre is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the Department of Mineral Resources, Natal Portland Cement (NPC) and the Hibiscus Coast Municipality.
Minister Shabangu said all mining companies were required to plough back into communities some of the profits they were making from the country’s mineral wealth.
“The Department of Mineral Resources is the custodian of all mineral rights in South Africa. When we grant a company a licence to mine the wealth of our country, that company has to table a social and labour plan. These plans require that companies invest in and improve the conditions of communities in the areas where they operate,” Minister Shabangu said on Saturday.
The R1 million Princess Nombuso project was a model for Early Childhood Development Centres and showed what was possible if government and the private sector joined forces in the interest of communities, she said.
“The opening of this centre is part of the programme of government to establish an early childhood education system that spans both the public and private sectors. Such centres will give children a much needed head start in numeric and literacy,” said Minister Shabangu.
"Future generations of mining engineers and geologists must come from previously disadvantaged communities. That is part of why we fought for democracy in South Africa, to give children the chance of achieving what they could only dream of before and I am confident that this Early Childhood Development Centre and others like it will help to eventually produce the skills our country needs," she said.
After the old crèche burnt down in September 2008 due to an electrical fault, Inkosi Nzimakwe asked the Department of Mineral Resources to assist the community to rebuild the crèche.
The Early Childhood Development Centre was named after Princess Nombuso, who is passionate about children and was hospitalised due to a motor vehicle accident at the same time as the crèche burnt down.
Natal Portland Cement generously agreed to incorporate the building and upgrading of the old crèche into their Marburg quarry’s social and labour plan. Instead of the small crèche which was a small building with little facilities for children, the community now has an Early Childhood Development Centre a modern complex accommodating up to 60 children. Children from ages 1 up to 7 now have a kitchen, bathrooms and beds to sleep during the day. Construction started in May and, about three months later, we are opening the doors for children to use it.
“The Princess Nombuso Early Childhood Development Centre will nurture young children of this community to be not only its leaders, but leaders of the country as a whole,” said Minister Shabangu.
The crèche has been handed over to the community and will be run by the Department of Social Development, which is responsible for early childhood development centres.
Enquiries:
Jeremy Michaels
Cell: 082 772 1122
E-mail: jeremy.michaels@dme.gov.za
Lizzy Baloyi
Tel: 012 679 9053
Fax: 012 679 9053 / 012 643 0930
E-mail: lizzy.baloi@dme.gov.za
Issued by: Ministry of Minerals and Energy
16 August 2009
