From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report. Sibanye Gold has accelerated its ambitions of winning the hearts and minds of its workers as progress is made on the gold miner’s commitment, accountability, respect and enabling, or Care, programme. Natasha Odendaal has the story.

Natasha Odendaal:
Sibanye’s ambitions of ensuring every worker is healthy, housed and debt-free is gaining traction, with the company actively trying to understand and address the underlying challenges faced by all its employees.

The potential benefits to Sibanye are less disruptions, increased productivity and improved profitability.

Sibanye is attempting to ease workers’ indebtedness through its financial education programme, Imali, while narrowing the wage gap and lifting the standards of living through gain share initiatives, which aimed to align and reward employees in line with investors and management.

In addition, transformation, education and training programmes through the Sibanye Academy, in Randfontein continued, and the group has moved to ensure sustainability of the regions in which it operated with local economic development, education, small and medium-sized enterprise facilitation.

Efficient healthcare, and the resultant healthy productive workforce, has also featured strongly in Sibanye’s strategy, with several initiatives targeting preventative healthcare, accessible health services and the mitigation of occupational health currently underway, including the building of a new medical centre at a nearby community.

With the migrant labour system, predominant at many of Sibanye’s operations, an unsustainable and critical issue, the company was working on finding ways to get workers home more frequently, through shift changes and potential four-day weeks.

In line with this, Sibanye has also implemented a housing/home ownership programme along with its hostel conversions projects.

Sibanye senior VP for Human Capital Adam Mutshinya tells us more.

Sibanye senior VP for Human Capital Adam Mutshinya

Shannon de Ryhove:
Other news making headlines this week: US multinational GE commits R700-million in response to South Africa’s localisation plans; Minister Lindiwe Zulu sees entrepreneurship as a ‘toyi-toyi of a different type’; and the construction of the Gauteng Nerve Centre is well under way.

US technology multinational GE has unveiled a R700-million commitment designed to support innovation as well as enterprise and skills development in South Africa.

GE Africa president and CEO Jay Ireland

Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has promised that her nascent department will soon finalise its plans for stimulating entrepreneurship and for the creation of an environment that is far more friendly to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu

Construction of the Gauteng Nerve Centre (or GNC), which will control all commuter rail traffic in Gauteng, is well under way, with the roof scheduled for completion this month. The construction of the offices and the GNC crisis centre is also well under way.

Siemens Southern Africa infrastructure and cities senior project

That’s Creamer Media’s Real Economy Report. Join us again next week for more news and insight into South Africa’s real economy.