Corporate profile
Origins of the IBT
The Impala Bafokeng Trust (IBT) was set up by Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats) and the Royal Bafokeng Nation (RBN) to promote social and economic development in the Bojanala district, with an emphasis on the empowerment of women.
A landmark black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction in 2007 between the RBN and Implats saw the RBN become Implats’ single largest shareholder.
A key feature of this transaction, in terms of which RBN exchanged royalty rights for shares in Implats, was the creation of the Impala Bafokeng Trust (IBT), to augment the established corporate social investment commitments of both Implats and the RBN with a total contribution of R340 million – R170 million each – over an eight-year period between 2007 and 2016.
While the Trust has an over-arching emphasis on the empowerment of women, it focuses more specifically on the areas of:
- education, and in particular early childhood development in recognition of this as providing the base for entry to the formal education system;
- enterprise development, and in particular initiatives that help aspirant entrepreneurs to advance beyond subsistence, into the formal economic sector;
- health, and in particular provision of infrastructure, equipment and human resource development and retention;
- capacity-building, particularly within local institutions so that these are able to support the work of the Trust and its partners; and
- sport and recreation, in recognition of the role of these in individual personal development, healthy living and community building.
The Trust seeks to go beyond mere grant-making in any of these areas, its concern being to avoid duplication of effort but rather to facilitate common purpose partnerships in which the private, not-for-profit and public sectors collaborate on specific programmes.
The IBT does not provide support to individuals, private companies or businesses, political parties, trade unions or events and initiatives aimed at promoting any religion.
About the RBN
The RBN is an estimated 300 000-strong community of Setswana-speaking black South Africans, based largely in South Africa’s North West Province. The RBN owns some 1 200km2 of land in the province’s Bojanala district, which partially hosts the world-renowned Bushveld Complex, the richest known reserve of platinum group metals (PGMs) and chrome in the world. The RBN leases portions of this land to, or conducts joint mining operations with some of the world’s largest mining companies, including Implats, Anglo Platinum and Xstrata.
Led by Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi, the RBN has a development philosophy called Vision 2020, the physical embodiment of which is the Masterplan. This plan aims to create an environment within the RBN’s geographical area and its environs in which people live with dignity and have access to facilities – education, employment, health and recreation that enable them to maximise their talent and ability.
For more information: www.bafokeng.com
About Implats
Implats is in the business of mining, refining and marketing of PGMs, as well as nickel, copper and cobalt. In the 2009 financial year, Implats produced 1.7Moz of platinum (approximately 25% of global supply) and 3.4Moz of PGMs. The group employs approximately 53 000 people across its operations and is one of the most efficient and lowest cost primary platinum producers in the world.
Implats’ mining interests are found on the two most significant known PGM-bearing orebodies in the world, the Bushveld Complex in South Africa and Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke. Impala Platinum, Implats’ primary operational unit, has 14 shaft systems on the western limb of the Bushveld Complex, predominantly in the Bojanala district of the North West Province. Its socio-economic development activities in South Africa are managed under the auspices of the Impala Group Sustainable Development Forum.
For more information: www.implats.co.za
About the Bojanala district
South Africa’s North West Province comprises four district municipal councils, the largest of which is Bojanala covering more than 18 000km2. Bojanala, in turn, comprises five local municipalities – Rustenburg, Moretele, Kgetleng, Moses Kotane and Madibeng – and has a total population, predominantly rural, of approximately 1.25 million. Some 300 000 are members of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, spread among 29 villages.
Unemployment in the district, in spite of extensive mining activity, is estimated at more than 40%; more than 67% of 323 000 households earn less than R1 600 a month and only 7% earn more than R6 400 a month. Some 39% of the population is aged 19 or younger, with a little more than 53% falling within the economically active category of 20 to 60 years of age.
As much as 15% of the population older than 20 years of age have not received any form of schooling and a further 20% some primary education. This implies that about 35% of the total adult population may be regarded as functionally illiterate. Only 20% of the adult population has completed high school and a little more than 5% has obtained some form of tertiary education.
For more information: www.bojanala.gov.za
