| Summary: | According to s 23, 24 & 25 of the MPRDA, mining companies must submit a Social and
Labour Plan (SLP) when applying for mining rights, and the local economic development
(LED) of the SLP must be aligned with the local and district municipality Integrated
Development Plan (IDP). The alignment between the SLP and IDP local economic
development initiatives provides a platform for investment opportunity, economic growth,
poverty reduction and infrastructure development (ICMM, 2006). The main objective of this
research was to determine the extent to which the mining SLPs are aligned with municipal
IDPs. The research was conducted using a qualitative method for three case studies, a
literature review, a documents review (of the SLPs and IDPs), questionnaires and interviews.
The mining industry charter gives mining companies targets for the development of local
communities through their SLPs. The King reports on corporate governance also give the
industry ways to report on corporate social responsibility and sustainability. The local
government Municipal Systems Act governs the development of local communities through
the development of IDPs as per s 29.There are also debates on the increase of local
beneficiation by mining companies, thereby creating jobs and accessing incentives in the
form of royalty payments and tax relief. In addition there is a growing demand for a portion of
such royalties and taxes to be paid directly into the municipalities to improve the LED and
infrastructure challenges. The main challenge with alignment is how mining companies deal
with related community grievances and risks, capacity constraints at local government and
the DMR, poor stakeholder engagement and the backlog of service delivery. Overall, in the
three case studies the KPIs were generally aligned (criteria B) with the municipal IDPs, which
indicates that there is a general compliance with the DMR regulations and guidelines. The
SLPs, socio-economic background and key economic activities were aligned (criteria A) with
the IDPs, while projects and programmes were also generally aligned (criteria B). The
negative social impacts were just aligned (criteria C) with the IDPs while no KPI was found to
be not aligned (criteria D) with IDP. Some of the initiatives to improve the positive social
impacts were the continuous Social Impact Assessment (SIA) throughout the life of mine.
Most importantly the research identified that there is a need to improve capacity in local
government for dealing with local economic development as this will also aid/improve the
alignment of IDPs and SLPs. === M Environmental Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014
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