Multistakeholder initiative launched to accelerate socioeconomic upliftment in the Northern Cape

16th July 2021

By: Simone Liedtke

Creamer Media Social Media Editor & Senior Writer

     

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The socioeconomic challenges facing South Africa generally and the Northern Cape in particular require a concerted effort from society and the private and public sectors to create mechanisms that drive large-scale socioeconomic development.

It is for this reason that the Impact Catalyst in the Northern Cape, launched virtually on June 30, saw organisations from across the private and public sectors join hands to catalyse socioeconomic development in the province and across South Africa as well.

The Impact Catalyst, originally founded in Limpopo in 2019, is an initiative of Anglo American, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Exxaro Resources, World Vision South Africa, the Industrial Development Cooperation and Zutari to create mechanisms that drive development initiatives through public-private partnerships.

The launch of the Impact Catalyst in the Northern Cape welcomed Kumba Iron Ore, Assmang, Deloitte, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, Kudumane Manganese Resources, Minerals Council South Africa and South32 to the initiative for the Northern Cape province.

It was found that, despite significant financial investment by mining companies in Northern Cape communities, these organisations’ efforts were often not meeting the real needs of communities or were not as efficient and effective as they could have been, owing to various companies working in isolation, but ultimately aiming for the same goalpost.

The Impact Catalyst in the province follows the establishment of the Northern Cape Shared Value Project, which was initiated in 2017 under the auspices of the Minerals Council, Assmang, Kudumane, Kumba and South32, and undertaken by Deloitte.

These organisations recognised that new ways of working were needed if real, sustainable socioeconomic transformation was to be achieved.

The launch also aimed to present continuous commitment towards creating vibrant sustainable economies through socioeconomic development initiatives. The focus of these initiatives will be expanded to include health, education and early childhood development.

“To achieve the scale, speed and impact necessary, we need an integrated approach that leverages key role-players and drives meaningful change and measurable socioeconomic development,” said Kumba CEO Themba Mkhwanazi.

“Collaborative regional development sits at the heart of [Anglo American’s] Sustainable Mining Plan, which sets out a pathway for us to build thriving communities by working collaboratively with community representatives, faith-based groups, businesses and entrepreneurs, government, academics and nongovernmental organisations to deliver on our promise.

“Through collaborative efforts and the buy-in of our host communities, we hope to play a part in shaping the future of the Northern Cape and its people,” he added.

Minerals Council CEO Roger Baxter said the Impact Catalyst would provide various socioeconomic actors with a transparent, efficient and effective platform to collaborate throughout the Northern Cape.

He added that the Impact Catalyst’s vision and purpose were “fully aligned to the Northern Cape Shared Value Initiative”.

African Rainbow Minerals Ferrous CEO André Joubert, meanwhile, commented that the “beauty” of the Impact Catalyst is its collaborative approach, which will help miners to collaborate with other miners, communities, traditional leaders, municipalities and provincial and national government departments to ensure that all work together towards one plan and one objective: to ensure the economic viability of the communities in which they work.

Further, with the official provincial unemployment rate of the Northern Cape having stood at 28.7% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, the launch event emphasised the crucial need for a collective partnership “to bring socioeconomic prosperity to the region”.

Impact Catalyst acting CEO Charl Harding noted that the Northern Cape region had significant potential, and that this would enable a thriving mining sector, with the sector’s contribution expected to assist in the creation of sustainable jobs and economic opportunities which “can be catalysed [and] sustained long after mining has ceased”.

Taking this into account, Harding noted that “a collective approach is required to truly achieve an impact”, adding that programmes and projects implemented in the private sector “will not make an impact if not strategically aligned with governmental strategy and resources”.

All initiatives implemented by the Impact Catalyst and its partners in the Northern Cape are designed to create an impact on the socioeconomic growth and development of the province.

By leveraging collaboration among partner organisations and across a variety of sectors, projects and initiatives are selected for impact scalability and replicability to achieve results beyond the reach of individual organisations.

Several feasibility studies and pilot programmes are under way in the Northern Cape, as part of the Impact Catalyst’s efforts to stimulate economic development in the region.

However, in the interim, to address some of the socioeconomic difficulties in the Northern Cape, the Impact Catalyst will prioritise a number of programmes, such as schools and community information and communications technology (ICT), health and economic development.

The Impact Catalyst will also focus on programmes geared to address agriculture- sector development, tourism-sector development, municipal capacity development and infrastructure support, as well as early childhood development.

The Impact Catalyst is committed to continuously expanding its impact by rolling out cross-sectoral initiatives nationwide through collaboration. Harding is hopeful these will lead to Impact Catalysts for other provinces.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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