Macua report uncovers R284m in mining ‘false promises’
The Mining Affected Communities United in Action released a report on Thursday, exposing what it claims to be R284 million, which allegedly vanished in Social and Labour Plan promises across eleven mining sites in the country.
MACUA launched the investigative report called Looted Promises: The Crumbs Economy of Mining and the Myth of the Just Transition in Braamfontein on Thursday.
A Social and Labour Plan (SLP) is a legally binding document that outlines a mining company's commitments to its employees and the surrounding communities.
Macua said that while companies collectively reported over R376.25 million in Social and Labour Plan commitments, only R92.25 million (approximately 24.5%) were confirmed as delivered through infrastructure or community services.
This leaves over R284 million unaccounted for—either undocumented, misrepresented, or effectively lost to fraud and non-delivery.
"Social and Labour Plans created as legal mechanisms for redistributive justice, have been hollowed out by corporate misrepresentation, inflated delivery claims, ghost projects, and financial manipulation," Macua stated in its report.
The report included research, physical site verifications, and testimonies from directly affected communities across the eleven sites, including Phola, Mononono, Ikemeleng, Meloding, Rabokala, Magojaneng, and others.
These are communities in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Free State and Northern Cape.
"This is not underperformance. It is developmental theft—a system of Crumbs Capture, in which even the legally required entitlements of the poor are systematically looted, while mining companies and politically connected actors continue to profit from public deception,” it said in the report.
"Nowhere is this clearer than in Magojaneng, where United Manganese of Kalahari operates one of South Africa’s most profitable manganese mines.
"Despite a reported R172 million in SLP obligations, Macua’s audit found no transparency, no community oversight, and no evidence of delivery proportionate to the commitment," the report continued.
Macua has called on government and Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy, to hold the mining companies accountable for social labour plans.
MACUA’s Lebohang Lesenyeho gives a brief summary of the social audit report on the 11 mining communities that did not benefit from the Social Labour Plans by mining companies. #MACUA pic.twitter.com/Ad8wx0nCvO
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) May 15, 2025
Read the full report here:
Looted Promises 4 by Mmangaliso Khumalo on Scribd
