Industry and Commerce Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu has urged mining companies to make local enterprise development a core part of their operations, saying communities hosting mines should benefit directly from the country’s mineral wealth by becoming suppliers to the industry.
Speaking at the Suppliers, Energy and Infrastructure Symposium held on the sidelines of Mine Entra in Bulawayo on Wednesday, Ndlovu said mining firms should deliberately support the growth of community-based businesses rather than treating local development as an afterthought.
The symposium was held under the theme: Enhancing Local Content and Linkages in the Mining Value Chain.
“We need to always be mindful that we are building a big mining industry from what communities possess. We owe it to these communities to develop them and bring them into our supply chains through local enterprise development,” he said.
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Ndlovu said mining companies should prioritise procuring goods and services from local businesses wherever capacity exists and invest in developing suppliers within the communities where they operate.
“Let us place orders where we have capacity,” he said.
He cited platinum producer Zimplats as an example of how supplier development can create sustainable businesses.
According to Ndlovu, the company supported engineers to establish independent firms that now supply consumables to its mining operations.
“They empowered engineers. They helped them start engineering firms. Today, those firms are supplying them with most of their consumables. This demonstrates that it is doable,” he said.
Ndlovu said such initiatives should become standard practice across the mining sector, with companies measuring their impact not only through production levels but also by the number of businesses created because of their presence.
“Imagine if this was a policy in mines, that we want to see local enterprise development wherever a mining operation is taking place. Let us see what orders we are placing and how many companies have been created because of your presence in that community,” he said.
The minister also criticised mining companies whose operations have left surrounding communities worse off through damaged infrastructure and environmental degradation.
He pointed to parts of Matabeleland South, where heavy mining traffic has damaged roads while dust from unpaved routes has affected nearby residents.
“Where I have seen in Matabeleland South, certain areas we will be having very strong conversations because the presence of certain companies has led to difficulties for communities. The dust coming from the roads, some found tarred roads and today they are completely destroyed,” he said.
Ndlovu said addressing such impacts should be viewed as part of doing business rather than as corporate social responsibility.
“This is not a corporate social responsibility issue. This has to be an integral responsibility of somebody who has gone there to make money. You cannot be making money while the community where you operate is going backwards,” he said.
His remarks come as government and industry leaders meet at this year’s Mine Entra exhibition to discuss ways of strengthening linkages between mining, manufacturing and infrastructure development while increasing local participation in the sector.
Ndlovu said the government would continue formulating policies that strengthen collaboration between mining and manufacturing to support industrialisation.
“Government has a responsibility to make sure that the mining industry and the manufacturing sector continue to strengthen their synergies and that the policies we formulate create an environment that supports those synergies,” he said.
He stressed that increasing domestic manufacturing should not come at the expense of product quality.
“We cannot seek to grow the domestic manufacturing sector through compromised quality,” he said.
The minister called on mining companies to increase procurement from local manufacturers, invest in supplier development programmes and build long-term partnerships with Zimbabwean producers.
He also urged communities to develop the skills needed to participate in mining value chains.
“We expect communities to be active and to upskill themselves so that they are able to participate in these supply chains,” he said.
Ndlovu said stronger integration between mining, manufacturing and local communities would promote mineral beneficiation, accelerate industrialisation and ensure that economic growth delivers broader social and economic benefits.
“We believe that from beneficiation to industrialisation comes inclusive development. We need to formalise the relationship between the mining and manufacturing sectors, linked with our communities, to make industrialisation the engine of inclusive development,” he said.
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