appendix d9: stakeholder engagement plan · 1.1. lephalale coal and power project draft stakeholder...

Appendix D9: Stakeholder Engagement Plan

1.1.

Lephalale Coal and Power Project

Draft Stakeholder Engagement Plan 27 June 2017

DMR Reference: LP30/5/1/2/2/10140MR

Lephalale Coal and Power Project Draft Stakeholder Engagement Plan © 2017 Kongiwe Environmental (Pty) Ltd

Kongiwe Environmental (Pty) Ltd. Reg No 2016 / 135562 / 07 Directors: BJ Thornton. PE Sodi. Tel: +27 (10) 140 6508 | Email: [email protected] 223 Cube Workspace, 1 Wedgewood Link, Bryanston, Sandton, 2191, South Africa. PostNet Suite no 163, Private Bag X21, Bryanston, 2021, South Africa. www.kongiwe.co.za

Report Information

Project: Lephalale Coal and Power Project

Report Title: Draft Stakeholder Engagement Plan

DMR Reference No: LP30/5/1/2/2/10140MR

Client: Lephalale Coal Mines (Pty) Ltd

Project No: DEDI#002

Compilation Date: 27 June 2017

Status of Report: Draft

Actions:

Report Compiler: Stephen Horak

Report Approved: Gerlinde Wilreker

Please consider the Environment before you print this document.

Copyright © 2017 Kongiwe Environmental (Pty) Ltd

All rights reserved. Absolutely no part of this report may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including

photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written consent of Kongiwe Environmental (Pty) Ltd.

All content and methodologies remain intellectual property of Kongiwe Environmental (Pty) Ltd. Where applicable, the contents of this

document are confidential and protected by legal privilege, and must not be distributed to other parties without prior written permission.

This report is to be used for the sole purpose intended, and should not be used for any other purpose without prior written permission.

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Table of Contents

1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1

2 Background ..................................................................................................................................... 1

3 Guidelines and Regulations ............................................................................................................. 1

3.1.1 International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards .................................. 1

3.1.2 South African Requirements for Stakeholder Engagement ............................................ 2

4 Project Stakeholders ....................................................................................................................... 3

5 Stakeholder Engagement Plan ........................................................................................................ 4

6 Grievance Mechanism .................................................................................................................. 10

6.1. Step 1: Lodging a grievance .................................................................................................. 11

6.2. Step 2: Acknowledgement .................................................................................................... 11

6.3. Step 3: Investigation ............................................................................................................. 11

6.4. Step 4: Resolution and Sign-off ............................................................................................. 12

6.5. Step 5: Mediation .................................................................................................................. 12

6.6. Step 6: Court of Law .............................................................................................................. 12

7 Management Functions ................................................................................................................ 14

7.1. Social Manager ...................................................................................................................... 14

7.2. Community Liaison Officer .................................................................................................... 15

7.3. Administrator ........................................................................................................................ 15

8 Integration and Support ................................................................................................................ 16

Figures

Figure 6-1: Grievance Procedure .......................................................................................................... 13

Tables

Table 5-1: Stakeholder Engagement Plan ............................................................................................... 6

Table 6-1: Grievance Mechanism as related to IFC Performance Standards ....................................... 10


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Abbreviations

AEL Application for an Atmospheric Emission License

BID Background Information Document

CBOs Community-Based Organisations

CLO Community Liaison Officer

DEA Department of Environmental Affairs

DMR Department of Mineral Resources

DWS The Department of Water and Sanitation

EA Environmental Authorisations

EIA Environmental Impact Assessment

EIAR The Environmental Impact Assessment Report

ESHIA Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessment

GM Grievance Mechanism

HR Human Resources

I&APs Interested and Affect Parties

IFC The International Finance Corporation

IPP Independent Power Producer

IWUL Integrated Water Use Licence

LCPP Lephalale Coal and Power Project

LIHRA Limpopo Heritage Resources Authority

MGH Masimong Group Holdings

MPRDA Minerals and Petroleum Resource Development Act, 2002 (Act No. 28 of

2002)

MRA Mining Right Application

NEM:

AQA National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004, (Act 39 2004)

NEM:WA National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act No. 59 of 2008),

as amended

NEMA National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998)

NGOs Non-Government Organisations

NHRA National Heritage Resources Act, 1999 (Act No. 25 of 1999)

NTS Non-Technical Summary

NWA National Water Act, 1998 (Act 36 of 1998), as amended

PAPs Project Affected Peoples

PPP Public Participation Process

PS1 Performance Standard 1

SAHRA The South African Heritage Resources Agency

SE Stakeholder Engagement

SEP Stakeholder Engagement Plan

SHEQ Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality


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2 Introduction

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standard 1 (PS1), requires that a Stakeholder

Engagement Plan (SEP) and Grievance Mechanism (GM) be compiled for a project. The SEP needs to

provide guidance for engagement with Stakeholders. This SEP has been developed to plan engagement

activities for the Proposed Lephalale Coal and Power Project (LCPP or the Project).

The plan will provide:

❖ A description of the regulatory and other requirements for Stakeholder Engagement (SE);

❖ The IFC framework regarding stakeholder engagement;

❖ A summary of the applicable South African legislation;

❖ A list of potential stakeholders identified for the project;

❖ Implementation plan for further consultation during the different phases of the project;

❖ A proposed grievance mechanism; and

❖ Management functions for the implementation of the SEP and grievance mechanism.

3 Background

Dedicoal (Pty) Ltd (Dedicoal), which is a subsidiary of Masimong Group Holdings (MGH), proposes to

develop a new coal mine and energy project in the Waterberg Coalfield, 22km northeast of the town of

Lephalale, Limpopo Province, Republic of South Africa. The project is known as the Lephalale Coal and

Power Project (LCPP or the Project). The proposed Project is to consist of an open pit coal mine and, at a

later stage, an Independent Power Producer (IPP) plant.

4 Guidelines and Regulations

The SEP for the proposed Project will align with both the IFC performance standards and South African

legislative requirements for Stakeholder Engagement (SE) referred to in South Africa as Public

Participation.

4.1.1 International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards

In the development of the SE plan, guidance was taken from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

IFC Performance standards requires that project proponents engage with Project Affected Peoples (PAPs)

through:

❖ Disclosure of information;

❖ Consultation; and

❖ Informed participation.


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The SE process must provide access to all information that has the potential to influence any decision

about the project, in a manner appropriate to the risks and impacts on the PAPs. Performance Standard

1 provides the standard for engagement with PAPs.

The objectives of the IFC PS 1 are as follows to:

❖ Identify and assess social and environmental impacts, both adverse and beneficial, in the project

area of influence;

❖ Avoid, or where avoidance is not possible, minimise, mitigate, or compensate for adverse impacts

on workers, affected communities, and the environment;

❖ Ensure that affected communities are appropriately engaged on issues that could potentially

affect them; and

❖ Promote improved social and environmental performance for companies through the effective

use of management systems.

The IFC requires that a Grievance Mechanism (GM), which is consistent with PS1, needs to be in place as

soon as possible. As this will allow the project developer to receive and address PAPs specific concerns

about the project in a timely way. The PS also requires that the GM be designed in such a way as to resolve

disputes in a fair way. The GM is discussed in detail in section 6.

4.1.2 South African Requirements for Stakeholder Engagement

4.1.2.1 Regulations and Licences

Kongiwe Environmental (Pty) Ltd has been appointed by Dedicoal to undertake the Environmental Impact

Assessment (EIA) process in support of the Mining Right Application (MRA) and other Environmental

Authorisations (EA’s) required for the proposed mine and IPP.

The following applications will be made to the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) as competent

authority for the proposed mining project:

❖ Mining Right Application (MRA) in terms of the Minerals and Petroleum Resource Development

Act, 2002 (Act No. 28 of 2002) (MPRDA);

❖ Application for EA for listed activities triggered in Listing Notices GN R327, 325 and 324 and in

accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations, 2017, promulgated in

terms of National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998) (NEMA);

❖ Application for listed waste activities in terms of GN R. 921 of the National Environmental

Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act No. 59 of 2008), as amended (NEM:WA).

In addition, the following applications will be made to the relevant competent authorities:

❖ Application for an Atmospheric Emission License (AEL), in terms of the National Environmental

Management: Air Quality Act, 2004, (Act 39 2004) (NEM: AQA) the Department of Environmental

Affairs (DEA) is the competent authority;


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❖ Integrated Water Use Licence (IWUL) in terms of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act 36 of 1998),

as amended (NWA). The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is the competent authority.

Relevant permit applications will also be made in terms of sections 34, 35 and 36 of the National Heritage

Resources Act, 1999 (Act No. 25 of 1999) (NHRA). The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA)

and or the Limpopo Heritage Resources Authority (LIHRA) will be the competent authorities.

These applications require a Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessment as per regulation 21 and

regulation 24 of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations, 2017, of the NEMA. The

regulations stipulate how the Public Participation Process (PPP) should be undertaken and the following

section presents the process in summary. The application process will follow the Scoping and EIA process.

Regulation 21(1) requires that – Scoping Report be submitted to the competent authority within 44 days

after receipt of the application. Within this 44 day period allowance must be made for a 30 day public

comment period on the Scoping Report. The Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) needs to

be submitted within 156 days after acceptance of the scoping document and must also include a 30 day

public comment period on the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR).

Regulation 41 – requires that a written notice be submitted to all potential Interested and Affect Parties

(I&APs) of the applications or proposed applications.

Regulation 41 (2) – requires that a notice board be placed at conspicuous places accessible to the public

at the boundary on the fence or along the corridor of the site where the activity is to take place or any

alternative sites.

The regulation 41 also requires that an advertisement be placed in a local newspaper, government

gazette, provincial newspaper or national paper depending on the scale of the project.

Regulation 42 requires that an I&APs register (database) must be kept and must include:

❖ Any persons who submitted comments on the reports or who attended meetings held;

❖ Any person who requested to be placed on the I&AP register; and

❖ Any state departments who have jurisdiction over any aspect of the project.

Regulation 43 states that - registered I&APs are entitled to comment in writing on all reports or plans

submitted to them and to bring to the attention of the proponent or applicant any issues of significance.

Regulation 44 states that – comments of I&APs must be recorded in reports and plans and responses must

be provided to the comments made.

5 Project Stakeholders

Project stakeholders will include a wide range of stakeholders and will include:


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❖ Project proponent;

❖ Elected representatives;

❖ Government authorities;

❖ State owned enterprises;

❖ Traditional authorities;

❖ Communities;

❖ Businesses;

❖ Civil society organisations;

❖ Non Government Organisations (NGOs);

❖ COMMUNITY-Based Organisations (CBOs);

❖ Land owners and land occupiers; and

❖ The public.

To ensure a proper representation of all stakeholders, the following identification methods will be used

to develop a stakeholder database including:

❖ Site visits and interaction with the affected people;

❖ Deed searches for the directly affected and adjacent farms;

❖ Developing a list of relevant traditional authorities;

❖ Identifying the ward councillors for the affected wards;

❖ Consulting land owners and land occupiers;

❖ Consulting government departments relevant to the project;

❖ Stakeholders who respond to the publication of newspaper advertisements;

❖ Stakeholders who respond to the distribution of project documentation; and

❖ updating the stakeholder database from attendance registers from meetings.

6 Stakeholder Engagement Plan

The Lifecycle Implementation Plan (LIP) needs to be continually updated throughout the lifecycle of the

project. During this process, the focus and scope of the SEP will change to ensure that the project

proponent addresses any issues. The SEP is included in Table 6-1.

Key elements to be considered when implementing stakeholder engagement during the project’s lifecycle

phases are briefly discussed below.

❖ Authorisation Phase: the regulatory process whereby the required authorisations and licences

are obtained before the project can be constructed.

❖ Construction Phase: the building of the proposed mine and the associated infrastructure.

❖ Commissioning Phase: the process of assuring that systems and components of the project are

designed, installed, tested, operated and maintained to prescribed / agreed requirements.

❖ Operational Phase: the process and activities involved with the operation of the mine and IPP.

❖ Decommissioning Phase: The process and activities involved in closing the mine and IPP.


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The SEP for the Project Lifecycle constitutes the following components:

❖ Action: the various operational SE tasks that will be undertaken as part of the SE Plan;

❖ Objective: the target that each activity needs to reach;

❖ Stakeholders: the various stakeholders to be targeted during implementation of the SE activity;

❖ Method: the method used by which SE will be undertaken;

❖ Messages: to be provided to stakeholders; and

❖ Notes: explanatory notes to assist with the implementation of the plan.

Table 6-1 provides the SEP and focuses on engagement with external stakeholders. Internal project

communications should be undertaken by the project team and should be undertaken regularly.


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Table 6-1: Stakeholder Engagement Plan

No Actions Objective Stakeholders Method Messages Notes

Authorisation Phase

1 Develop SEP process prior to undertaking the scoping phase.

Develop consultation materials Manage SE during scoping

Project team including:

Dedicoal

Kongiwe Environmental

Sub consultants

Telephone

Email

Project meetings

Project description

Implementation plans

Maps

Infrastructure layouts

At this point the communication is internal to the project team.

It is important to coordinate activities in this phase prior to engagement with stakeholders; this particularly important when working in teams so that a consistent message is delivered.

2

Scoping Phase

Conduct the SE process as per IFC standards and applicable South African legislation as part of the scoping process.

Notification of I&APs that the Scoping Document is available for public review for 30 Days

Adhere to legislative requirements

Ensure participation from stakeholders

Manage expectations

Identify potential project risks

Provide information on the way forward

Registration of I&APs

National Departments and provincial Government Departments:

Minerals and Energy

Environment

Water and Sanitation

Minerals and Energy

Local Government

Letters

Background Information Document (BID)

Non-Technical Summary (NTS)

Focus group meetings

Telephone calls

Maps

Scoping Report

Detailed project description

Terms of references for the EIA phase

It is important to start managing expectations from communities on employment. Information should focus on the facts and highlight that the authorisation process needs to be completed before construction can commence. The way forward should be clearly stipulated for communities. Ensure that stakeholders are informed about the project and adhere to the IFC Performance Standards.

It is important to consider the use of appropriate languages for this project (English, Sepedi and Afrikaans).

Detailed SE activities are described in in in the scoping report. All stakeholder comments are captured in the Comments and Response Report (CRR) which can be analysed for potential project impacts and risks.

Traditional Authorities

Ward councillors

Local Government

Affected land owners and occupiers

Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)

Community Based Organisations (CBOs)

Public

Letter

Registration and comment forms

Site Notices


BID

NTS

Advert

Scoping report

Public meetings

Project description

Terms of references for the EIA phase

Impact Assessment Phase

3 Develop EIA report

Notification of Availability of EIA for public review for 30 days


Ensure participation from stakeholders

Identify potential Environmental Impacts

National and provincial departments as stipulated above

Registered I&APs

Notice letters

Email

EIA and EMP report

Public meetings


Impacts of the Project

Mitigation and enhancement measures for the impacts as appropriate

Environmental Management Plans

It is important that the impacts and management plans are communicated to stakeholders in a way in which they can understand the impacts Detailed SE activities are described in in in the Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessment (ESHIA) report. All stakeholder comments are captured in the Comment and Response Report (CRR) which can be analysed for potential project impacts and risks.

Decision making phase

4 Development of notification materials

Notification of registered I&APs


Registered I&APs Notice Letter

Advert

The Authorisation Decision

Appeal process

The legislative process needs to be followed in terms of providing the Authorisation Decision to stakeholders and the Appeals process. Time frames also need to be adhered to.


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Construction Phase

5

Notify stakeholders that construction will commence.

Develop the needed notification materials.

Building relationships

Manage stakeholder expectations

Manage stakeholder risk

Identify project risk proactively

Provincial Departments:

Minerals and Energy

Environment


Local Government

Letters

Emails

Construction timeframes

Employment processes

Final infrastructure layouts

Contact information for the Community Liaison Officer (CLO)

A CLO should be appointed before construction commences.

Regular updates to stakeholders on construction progress.

Feedback can also be in the form of site visits for key stakeholders. During these update meetings, information which could have potential impact on the project needs to be fed through to the relevant internal decision makers.

Stakeholders Forum


Village chiefs

Ward councillors

Affected land owners and land occupiers

NGOs

CBOs

Registered I&APs form environmental authorisation phases

Letter

Posters

Notices

Pamphlets


Suggestions boxes

Grievance records

CLO

It is recommended that a Stakeholders forum be established with broad representation of stakeholders. This forum will then become the main body for communication.

Engagement with these stakeholders contributes toward achieving the social licence to operate. Providing regular feedback to stakeholders also contributes to the effort of managing expectations. Close attention should be paid to addressing grievances as they are lodged. Stakeholders identified during the environmental authorisation process should be included in all future engagements.

Commissioning

6

Notify stakeholders of the commissioning date and process.


Sustain relationships


National and provincial Departments:

Minerals and Energy

Environment


Local Government

Letter

Emails

Public Meeting

Open day

CLO

Commissioning time frames and process

Materials used to explain to the communities can focus on the basic principles of the process and the fact that the project is committed to ensure safety of staff and surrounding communities.

Stakeholders Forum


Village chiefs

Ward councillors

Local Government

Affected land owners and occupiers

NGOs

CBOs

Letters

Posters/Notices

Focus group meetings (where applicable)

CLO


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7

Provide feedback when commissioning is completed.




National Departments:

Minerals and Energy

Environment



Minerals and Energy

Environment


Local Government

Letter

Emails

CLO

Date of when commissioning is completed and provide operational timeframes

It is important to constantly inform stakeholders of development around the project as this solidifies relationships and strengthens the social licence to operate. The CLO should be the main conduit of all communication with external stakeholders. Stakeholders Forum


Village chiefs

Ward councillors

Local Government

Affected land owners

NGOs

CBOs

Letter

Posters/Notices


CLO

Operation

8

Notify stakeholders of the official date when operations will commence.




National and Provincial Departments:

Minerals and Energy

Environment


Local Government

Letter

Emails


Site visits (if applicable)

The following should be included in this notification official: date when operations will commence, brief description of core operational activities and contact details for relevant project management and CLO.

A site visit for the official opening of the project can be arranged for key stakeholders, including traditional leadership of communities who are directly affected.

Stakeholders Forum


Village chiefs

Ward councillors

Local Government


NGOs

CBOs

Letter

Posters/Notices

Pamphlets


Site visit (if applicable)

Suggestions boxes

Grievance records

CLO

The labour requirements and the need for additional operational staff should be communicated at this time.

9

Engage stakeholders throughout the operations phase.

Develop the needed SE materials.


Manage stakeholder expectations

Manage stakeholder risks


Minerals and Energy

Environment


Letter

Emails

Telephone


Ongoing operational information, this can include production targets health and safety records. Environmental compliance,

Engagement with stakeholders during operations needs to be structured. The agenda and frequency of meetings needs to be agreed by the forum. An agreed outcome of this forum can be an annual report. Other authorities and NGOs can be met with on an ad-hoc basis. It is proposed that a quarterly / bi-annual newsletter be distributed to all stakeholders. It would be important to also ensure


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Identify potential project risks proactively

Manage potential community health and safety risks

Stakeholders Forum

Report with structured content

Newsletter

Online media

Newspapers

that online coverage and print media of the project is actively tracked.

Stakeholders Forum


Village chiefs

Ward councillors

Local Government


NGOs

CBOs

Letter

Posters/Notices


Forum

CLO

Suggestions boxes

Grievance records

Awareness creation campaigns

Community capacity building initiatives

Continuous integration with community development and media initiatives will need to take place.

Various community initiatives will be implemented during operations under the Social and Labour Plan (SLP). These need to be identified early and integrated with planned SE activities. The same needs to apply for media activities and engagement e.g. newspaper or radio adverts, articles being released, interviews being scheduled etc. Releasing information through the media will create perception and potential expectations which could easily filter through to communities. Therefore, proactive measures need to be taken.

Decommissioning Phase

10 Notice of intention to decommission

Development of notices

Winding down of relationships with stakeholders

Extraction from environment

National and Provincial Departments:

Minerals and Energy

Environment


Local Government

Letters

Emails

Telephone

Notices of the intention to close operations

Compliance with all environmental closure requirements

It is important that the stakeholders are informed well before decommissioning takes place the process should start at least five years prior to closure.

A separate full communication and engagement strategy will need to be developed with internal stakeholders such as labour unions and all employees.

The requirements in terms of the SLP for closure will need to be met.

Stakeholders Forum


Village chiefs

Ward councillors

Local Government


NGOs

CBOs

Letters

Emails

Telephone

Notices

Posters

Stakeholders Forum

Meetings

Newsletter

Online media

Newspapers


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7 Grievance Mechanism

The grievance mechanism is way of ensuring that any issues and concerns are recorded and adequately

addressed. Grievances raised by stakeholders need to be managed through a transparent process, which

is culturally appropriate, understandable, acceptable, at no cost and without retribution for stakeholders.

The mechanism should be appropriate to the scale of impacts and risks presented by a project and be

beneficial for both the project and stakeholders. The mechanism must not impede access to other judicial

or administrative remedies. Key requirements for developing and implementing a grievance mechanism

are highlighted in Table 7-1 below.

Table 7-1: Grievance Mechanism as related to IFC Performance Standards

Principle Key components

Performance Standard 1

Social and Environmental Assessment and Management

“The client will establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of the affected stakeholders’ concerns and grievances about the client’s environmental and social performance”


Labour and Working Conditions

“The client will provide a grievance mechanism for workers (and their organisations) to raise reasonable workplace concerns using an understandable and transparent process that provides feedback to those concerned”


Community Health, Safety and Security

“A grievance mechanism should allow the affected community to express concerns about the Community Health, Safety and Security”

This grievance procedure sets out the steps to be taken to resolve grievances, role players involved in the

process and timeframes to resolve grievances. The types of grievances that people may raise include but

are not limited to:

❖ negative impacts on communities, which may include financial loss, physical harm and nuisance

from construction or operational activities;

❖ health and safety risks;

❖ negative impacts on the environment; and

❖ unacceptable behaviour by project staff or employees.

To ensure consistency in processes and elimination of stakeholder uncertainty it is critical that

communities understand that all grievances lodged, regardless of the project phase or activity being

implemented, will follow the structure i.e., one mechanism needs to be followed to facilitate all grievances

or complaints.

The Social Manager (as proposed under Management Function in Section) will have the overall

responsibility for addressing grievances. While it may be possible to verbally resolve some grievances,

these must still be recorded on the grievance log form for recordkeeping purposes. Where the Social


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Manager cannot resolve grievances directly, these will be escalated to a grievance committee. If

grievances are still unresolved, the Social Manager will provide information to the affected party on the

mechanisms for addressing complaints via legal redress.

7.1. Step 1: Lodging a grievance

A formal grievance can be lodged at the Dedicoal office. Grievances may be lodged by a variety of different

means including direct reporting to the Community Liaison Officer (CLO), at suggestion boxes, at project

sites, by posting in suggestions, by telephone, by mail or email. All project staff are to be informed that

they must pass all submissions that could be considered as a grievance to the CLO as soon as possible

after they are received.

Details of the person lodging the grievance will be noted. All grievances will be recorded by the Social

Manager who is in charge of the Grievance Mechanism and needs to be captured in a central Grievance

Issues Database where the status of the grievance captured will be monitored. Community and traditional

leaders and government departments will also be advised to pass any complaints they receive to the CLO

from where they will be forwarded to the Social Manager.

The CLO will record each grievance on a standard Grievance Form and will ensure that the name of the

complainant, the date recorded and the name of the person that received the grievance are noted.

The complainant will be required to complete a Grievance Form. If the person is illiterate the CLO or the

Social Manager, will assist the complainant to record the grievance on the form. A grievance can also be

lodged by sending a Grievance Form or written complaint directly to the project management.

7.2. Step 2: Acknowledgement

Once the grievance is recorded, the stakeholder will be provided with a copy of the Grievance Form signed

by the complainant and by the Social Manager. This copy serves as an acknowledgment that the grievance

has been received.

The Social Manager will acknowledge receipt of the grievance in writing within seven working days. The

letter will specify the name of the responsible person and process that will be followed in addressing the

complaint. The letter will also provide a reference number and a probable date for resolving the grievance.

7.3. Step 3: Investigation

The Social Manager will consider and prioritise the grievance received. Where applicable, the Social

Manager or CLO will take photographs and/or interview any witnesses. If the Social Manager is unable to

resolve the grievance, he/she will forward the grievance to a grievance committee. Where possible,

grievances will be finalised within 30 days of receipt. The complainant might be contacted during this time

to clarify issues.


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7.4. Step 4: Resolution and Sign-off

Once a complaint has been investigated, a letter will be sent to the complainant, explaining the outcome

of the investigation and the proposed course of action to resolve the grievance. The Social Manager will

contact the complainant in person if this is required and explain the results of the investigation and the

proposed course of action. If the complainant is satisfied that the complaint has been resolved, he/she

will be required to sign a statement confirming that the complaint has been resolved.

If the complaint has not been resolved by mutual agreement, a re-assessment may be undertaken if new

information becomes available in support of the claim/complaint. If the complainant is still not satisfied

with the resolution, the grievance will then go into mediation. If applicable, the grievance committee will

monitor the implementation of the resolution and the claimant’s satisfaction with this implementation.

Resolution and sign-off on the grievance captured will be noted in the grievance issues database. All

grievances, regardless of their status, will be kept since it will provide proof in case of litigation.

7.5. Step 5: Mediation

Unresolved grievances will be investigated by a grievance committee, which will include members of

senior management. This committee will only meet to resolve problems which cannot be resolved during

steps one to four. The Project will provide for an independent arbitrator if grievances cannot be resolved

internally.

7.6. Step 6: Court of Law

Should all steps, one to five, be followed and no resolution found, the matter could be taken to a court of

law. It must be stressed that this is a last resort as the legal process is costly and time consuming and

every effort should be made to resolve the grievance before this point is reached.

The grievance procedure is illustrated in more detail in Figure 7-1.


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Figure 7-1: Grievance Procedure


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8 Management Functions

To implement the SE implementation plans and Grievance Mechanism, an organisational structure and

management functions for the SE function for the Project are required. While the project proponents may

decide to adapt this structure according to its needs, it is emphasised that the various components

described below should be represented in the organisational structure in some form in order to

successfully implement the SEP.

❖ Social Manager, who is responsible for overseeing and coordinating all activities associated with

stakeholder engagement;

❖ CLO, who will be responsible for implementing community engagement activities; and

❖ Administrator, who will be responsible to manage all activities related to database, documents

and SE logistics.

8.1. Social Manager

The Social Manager (or a similar function) needs to oversee all activities that are planned or being

implemented for SE. Furthermore, this position needs to ensure that all aspects relating to SE are kept on

the project management agenda and are addressed. Hence, it is important that the Social Manager

reports directly to the Project Manager or Mine Manager/ Operations Manager and is able to interact

freely with key decision-makers in the organisation i.e., Human Resources (HR) Manager, Safety, Health,

Environmental and Quality (SHEQ) Manager, Engineering Manager and Site Manager.

Responsibilities of the Social Manager include the following:

❖ Develop, implement and monitor all SE strategies / plans for the project;

❖ Oversee all SE related activities for the project (administrator, CLO);

❖ Manage the grievance process;

❖ Interact with and support projects that require ad-hoc or intensive SE;

❖ Act as mediator between the project and stakeholders (communities, Government structures,

Traditional structures, NGOs, CBOs, commerce and industry and international organisations);

❖ Integrate with other organisational managers to ensure that SE requirements / protocols are

understood; and

❖ Proactively identify stakeholders, project risks and opportunities and inform the General Manager

/ management to ensure that the needed planning can be done to mitigate or capitalise.

The Social Manager plays a critical role as internal change agent for social and stakeholder related matters

in the organisation. This becomes important if social and stakeholder risks identified need to be escalated

for decision-making on resolution. Playing a mediating role, the Social Manager needs to remain actively

involved with the project in order to identify potential risks or opportunities and ensure that the needed

administrative support is provided. Moreover, grievances submitted as part the SE processes needs to be

addressed by the project team, but with the needed support from and in collaboration with the Social

Manager.


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8.2. Community Liaison Officer

The main purpose of this person or team is to engage with communities at grassroots level on a

continuous basis in an effort to strengthen relationships between the project and communities,

authorities and traditional structures.

Responsibilities include the following:

❖ Provide feedback to the Social Manager on concerns raised by the community;

❖ Provide feedback to the community on project developments, concerns raised or important

decisions taken;

❖ Identify potential grievances or project risks / opportunities;

❖ Assist the Social Manager with facilitation of grievances lodged;

❖ Assist the HR Manager during the recruitment process by soliciting community requirements;

❖ Identify community needs for social development or engagement requirements; and

❖ SE logistics (gather suggestions / grievances from suggestion boxes, delivery of letters to

traditional authorities, put up communication materials on notice boards, arrange community

meetings etc.).

The CLOs will be employed by the Project and will have offices on site from where they will operate. The

CLO will need to provide feedback to the Social Manager on a weekly basis by means of a structured field

report. Proposed content of the field report: consultations undertaken, attendance registers (where

applicable), concerns raised, requests raised, concerns resolved, potential risks, grievances or

opportunities identified. It is proposed that the CLO is employed from the local community to ensure that

local language and culture needs can be supported.

8.3. Administrator

The administrator’s main purpose is to provide support to the SE process by ensuring that all

administrative requirements are managed effectively.

Main responsibilities include the following:

❖ Document management;

❖ Capture and filing (physical and electronic) of SE document / records. These include, but are not

limited to: grievance records, attendance registers, letters, post, emails notes, suggestions,

complaints, memos, statements, reports, strategies and plans, agreements, surveys, notification

materials, maps, print materials, adverts, articles;

❖ Database management;

❖ Continuously update stakeholder information (contact details, organisational details, designation,

engagement activities);

❖ Continuously update grievance information according to the steps set out in Section 7 (grievance

records, grievance log, agreements, meeting registers);

❖ Logistics management; and


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❖ Assist with printing of materials to be used during stakeholder meetings (posters, pamphlets,

letters, attendance registers, maps, newsletters).

9 Integration and Support

Since SE activities will influence other departments or require their inputs, the Social Manager needs to

ensure the various managers are included or kept informed on the SE process. Decisions taken by

managers might have a direct or indirect impact on communities which would need to be communicated

at the appropriate time, e.g. the Project Manager might decide to construct additional access roads which

could potentially have an impact on communities and involvement of the Department of Transport would

be required. As such, it is prudent to determine the structure, objectives and functionality of the grievance

committee in a manner that would ensure transparency. This committee will play a pivotal role, in

conjunction with the Social Manager, to address sensitive and potential high-risk issues, such as

compensation.

Anticipated SE roles for the various decision-makers are outlined below:

❖ HR Manager: opportunities for employment are a key concern for community members. They are

also very sensitive about appointing people from local villages opposed to people located further

away from the project site. This requires that a defined process of employment be developed and

clearly communicated to community leadership and members.

❖ Site Manager: the Site Manager is often responsible for logistics, which include transport to and

from villages. These transport arrangements need to be supported by the Site Manager and

arranged accordingly in cases where extensive consultation with communities is required.

❖ SHEQ Manager: how the project interacts with the environment will have a direct bearing on

stakeholders’ perceptions. The SHEQ Manager needs to be able to interact with the Federal

Ministries or environmental NGOs freely, providing the needed information on the project’s

environmental policies and how they are being implemented.

❖ Project Managers: these managers are more than often driven by construction targets and would

need to be capacitated to understand the importance of healthy stakeholder relations, even if it

requires production stoppages due to outstanding issues to be resolved around environmental or

social impacts, for example.

appendix d9: stakeholder engagement plan · 1.1. lephalale coal and power project draft stakeholder...

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