Page | 1 Another value that guides our operations is Care and Respect - PDF document

Speech by Themba Mkhwanazi at the handover of facilities at Sibongindawu Primary School Mayor of eMalahleni, Councillor Salome Sithole; Government officials present here today; Representatives of the school governing body; Parents; My colleagues from Anglo American; Learners; Ladies and gentlemen It is a great pleasure for me to be part of this occasion to unveil a temporary home for Sibongindawo Primary School. It is always a great privilege to speak at occasions like these – occasions when we in some way are able to contribute meaningfully to the lives of others. At Anglo American, we are guided by six values, two of which are clearly embodied in the project we have gathered to celebrate today. Our core value is, of course, safety, which goes beyond the gates of our 10 mines and filters through into the communities that host us. We believe that our employees have the right to go home fit and well at the end of each shift – and as a company we do everything in our power to make this a reality. Children, on the other hand, have the right to a good, solid education in a safe and nurturing environment. When we visited the school a few weeks ago and saw the conditions under which the little ones were taught, immediately then, we knew that we have to get involved: • Firstly, to ensure the health and safety of the young ones we see here today, • And secondly, to provide surroundings more conducive to teaching and learning. Page | 1

Another value that guides our operations is Care and Respect – which I believe has been visibly demonstrated in what we see here today. Modern day mining places strong focus, rightfully so, on partnership with all the stakeholders, communities included. This means that in order for large companies like ours to continue extracting minerals from the ground, they must earn their social license to operate. I am tremendously proud of the work we have done in this space, not only through our contribution to local infrastructure and enterprise development, but to furthering the opportunities for young people by investing millions in education. The expression that ‘young people are our future’ is often used and has become something of a cliché. However, it is a cliché that is an undeniable fact. Only two days ago, we were commemorating Youth Day in our country. Everyone that I heard commenting on significance of the day, stressed the importance of education if our country is to rid itself of unemployment, inequality and poverty. As I said earlier, each year Anglo American spends millions of rands in an effort to uplift the standard of education in our country. We have invested significantly in programmes across the education spectrum. These include early childhood development, school infrastructure projects, teacher development programmes, supplementary classes in Maths and Science, adult basic education, bursary schemes as well as learnership programmes. Whilst we may not be able to employ everyone that we assist, we know that investing in their education gives them wings to fly. We are proud to say that we are seeing tremendous progress on all of these programmes. Here in eMalahleni we pride ourselves in the success of our world class maths, career guidance and ICT centre. We have on average 1500 learners from schools across the Nkangala district visiting the centre every month to learn about science as well as various career options. One of our most recent developments in the area of education is our Community Scholarship Scheme that provides university funding for hard working and talented young people who come from underprivileged backgrounds. This initiative is run separately from our traditional bursary scheme, and does to require students to study fields relating to mining. The programme, currently in its second year has 61 students. I am pleased to say 31 of them are from eMalahleni. We are aware that what we have provided here today is a temporary facility. While government and industry are still deciding on the best possible solution going forward, I want to urge the Page | 2

teachers, learners and parents here today put this facility to good use. There is a saying that goes from ‘From small acorns do mighty oak trees grow.” The little ones here are the acorns, and by investing in their future we create mighty oaks that will go on to thrive. Lastly, I would like to thank all the sponsors that contributed to the success of this project, please continue to make a difference in our country. I would also like to thank the Department of Education who continue to be our anchor partners in many of the projects that we undertake. Lastly, to my team, under the leadership of Beauty Mazibuko, Bheki Khumalo, Dawie Smit and Mokhine Makgalemele. To Deon van Zyl and his team who worked tirelessly to transform this place into such a magnificent facility, in such a short space of time – Thank you - A round of applause for all of them please. Please continue to enjoy the rest of the day and drive back safely. I thank you Page | 3