APPENDIX D: ISSUES AND CONCERNS RAISED AT PUBLIC MEETINGS

Transcription

1 APPENDIX D: RAISED AT PUBLIC MEETINGS

2 AT THE GREAT CENTENARY HALL, NEW BRIGHTON, AT 18h00 1 OCTOBER 2002 Present: Ms. Sandy Wren (Sandy & Mazizi Consulting cc) Mr. Mazizi Msutu (Sandy & Mazizi Consulting cc) Ms. Lumka Betela (Sandy & Mazizi Consulting cc) Mr. Wandile Junundu (Sandy & Mazizi Consulting cc) Mr. Paul Lochner (CSIR) Ms. Frauke Munster (CSIR) Mr. Warren Brooks (Pechiney) Mr. Roland Pesch (Pechiney) Mr. Jacques Goldenberg (Pechiney) Mr. Denys Poisson (Pechiney) Mr. Michel Labarre (Pechiney) Mr. John Raimondo (CDC) and his colleagues Ms. Sandy Wren, Ms. Lumka Betela and Mr. Wandile Junundu as the independent consultants with Sandy and Mazizi Consulting cc, appointed to facilitate the public participation process as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment for the Pechiney Aluminium Smelter project. He then gave time to Pechiney and CSIR to introduce themselves. 1. Project Support As the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan community we are happy with the proposed investment in the region since it will create employment, boost the economy and will address a number of issues, it is really welcomed. In the past companies have operated within apartheid legislation. Pechiney is coming to this country during a different dispensation and we appreciate the manner in which Pechiney is coming with proposals to communities. We are hoping to learn from multinational companies and this will help us to move forward. 2. SMME s Will there be opportunities for SMME s at the development and if so, how would one go about harnessing those opportunities? 3. Employment Issues People between 35 and 40 years are not likely to get employment because they are regarded as too old, yet they cannot get a social grant as they are too young. Employment has been rife in the region for years and the unemployed have got even older and only now are there employment opportunities. How Pechiney going to address this issue? We have not had a smelter before in our region, can you tell us more about smelters and what type of job opportunities would there be? What sub-contracting opportunities would there be at the smelter? People have previously not had access to education and training programmes and the market has not encouraged people to go the extra mile, as a result there is high levels of unemployment and a poor literacy rate. How is Pechiney address this and what training opportunities would the smelter have for these people? 4. Health and Safety What does Pechineys health and safety policy say? Would Pechiney have a medical practitioner at the plant that would be responsible for the health and safety of employees? 5. Project Specific Have Pechiney already have a signed contract or an agreement with the CDC? How sure is Pechiney that it wants to have a smelter in this region? What kind of economic sector does Pechiney belong to? The meeting was closed at 20h00 Appendix D, page 1

3 AT THE RAYMOND MHLABA SPORTS CENTERE, MOTHERWELL, AT 18h00 2 OCTOBER 2002 Present: Ms. Sandy Wren (Sandy & Mazizi Consulting cc) Mr. Mazizi Msutu (Sandy & Mazizi Consulting cc) Ms. Lumka Betela (Sandy & Mazizi Consulting cc) Mr. Wandile Junundu (Sandy & Mazizi Consulting cc) Mr. Paul Lochner (CSIR) Ms. Frauke Munster (CSIR) Mr. Warren Brooks (Pechiney) Mr. Roland Pesch (Pechiney) Mr. Jacques Goldenberg (Pechiney) Mr. Denys Poisson (Pechiney) Mr. Michel Labarre (Pechiney) Mr. Themba Koza (CDC), Mr. Etienne Roux (IDC) and his colleagues Ms. Sandy Wren, Ms. Lumka Betela and Mr. Wandile Junundu as the independent consultants with Sandy and Mazizi Consulting cc, appointed to facilitate the public participation process as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment for the Pechiney Aluminium Smelter project. He then gave time to Pechiney, IDC and CSIR to introduce themselves. 1. Project Support It appears that there are no fatal flaw from an environmental point of view especially now that it is not likely to pose a health risk to the nearby community of Motherwell therefore we welcome the project. We are happy with the project proposal, findings and recommendations that are put forward in the Environmental Impact Report and it appears that there are no health risks, based on that we are comfortable with the proposal. 2. Employment Process and Issues How would recruitment be done? Would the registration forms that were initially distributed by Coega be enough to accommodate the recruitment needs of Pechiney? Is the labour pool large enough to supply Pechiney? What is the process for getting involved in the project? Would there be an age limit on this project? Would the smelter consider people over 35 years of age or would they be regarded as too old for employment? What are the chances of labour being exploited and Pechiney not complying with SA Labour legislation, e.g. paying below the minimum wage for the region? What is the minimum skills entry level required at the plant? And what qualifications would one need to have to get employment? 3. Coega Development Corporation What training process will there be to accommodate future needs? People were trained at East Cape Training Centre from July for preparation work at Coega, not necessarily in relation to the smelter, but other infrastructure activities that are being undertaken at Coega. The indication was that practical work would commence around August. What update is there with regards to this? What is presently happening at Coega? Would there be training opportunities for people who have not had any experience at a Metallurgical cluster? How would one go about harnessing those opportunities? What are the criteria that are required to register as a service provider on the CDC Database? 4. Social Issues Will Pechiney have a corporate social investment programme? And if so, what would it consist of and what issues would it cover? For example bursaries to engineering students Appendix D, page 2

4 5. Health and Safety Issues It appears in the Draft EIA that potential health risks associated with the smelter are negligible. What is the level or degree of confidence that the specialists have in this result to assure the community that this will actually prevail? Does Pechiney have a health and safety policy in place? What could the community expect from Pechineys Health and Safety policy? There are people in Motherwell that are trained to provide basic community health and safety education, would Pechiney consider using this health and safety pool to engage on a health and safety programme for the plant? The meeting was closed at 20h00 Appendix D, page 3

5 AT THE BABS MADLAKANE COMMUNITY HALL, UITENHAGE, AT 18h30 3 OCTOBER 2002 Present : Mr. Mazizi Msutu (Sandy & Mazizi Consulting cc) Ms. Lumka Betela (Sandy & Mazizi Consulting cc) Mr. Wandile Junundu (Sandy & Mazizi Consulting cc) Mr. Paul Lochner (CSIR) Ms. Frauke Munster (CSIR) Mr. Warren Brooks (Pechiney) Mr. Roland Pesch (Pechiney) Mr. Jacques Goldenberg (Pechiney) Mr. Denys Poisson (Pechiney) Mr. Michel Labarre (Pechiney) Mr. Etienne Roux (IDC) and his colleagues Ms. Lumka Betela and Mr. Wandile Junundu as the independent consultants with Sandy and Mazizi Consulting cc, appointed to facilitate the public participation process as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment for the Pechiney Aluminium Smelter project. He then gave time to Pechiney, IDC and CSIR to introduce themselves. 1. EIA Process What is the involvement of CSIR and Sandy and Mazizi Consulting in the project? What would prevent this project going ahead? What disadvantages could cause the project to fail? 2. SMME s What process should SMME s follow to be involved in the project especially if they are not registered on the CDC database? Would there be opportunities for the SMME s to work during the operational phase? 3. Employment Issues Would woman be involved in the project and would they be able to participate during the operational phase of the project? What activities would require the involvement of women? Is Pechiney going to use local labour and how would this be done? How would Pechiney conduct the local labour recruitment process? Would Pechiney discriminate against various age groups and will there be an age limit on recruitment? What provision will there be for people older than 40 years? 4. Project Specific Is Pechiney looking at a long term commitment and how long would this be? Would Pechiney not leave the country after 10 to 20 years and what would encourage or discourages this to happen? What could cause the project to fail? 5. Social Issues and Impacts How protected are employees should Pechiney decide to leave the country? What protection policy would there be to protect workers so that their fringe benefits would not be lost if Pechiney left the country? 6. Project Support As the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan community we welcome the project and are looking forward to the employment opportunities that would be created through the project and would like to thank Pechiney for coming to the community with the project proposal. The meeting was closed at 20h00. Appendix D, page 4