On Thursday, 18 June, Anglo American’s coal business in South Africa and several contributing partners gave the rural Sibongindawu Primary School a new lease on life following its relocation to safe and significantly improved premises.
Sibongindawu was built by missionaries in 1952 and occupied by the Department of Education on the company’s New Largo mining licence area. After several decades it had deteriorated to a point where its buildings had became unsafe. Classrooms were also overcrowded and there was a complete lack of electricity, water and sanitation services.
A visit from Coal South Africa CEO Themba Mkhwanazi prompted Sibongindawu’s urgent relocation to a temporary facility at a nearby site, where existing structures were converted into spacious classrooms, administration and ablution facilities. The school now also has a fully equipped kitchen, dining hall, library and computer centre, as well as a vegetable garden, playground, soccer and netball field.
“At Anglo American, safety is our core value. 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. At the same time, children have the right to a good, solid education in a safe and nurturing environment,” said Mkhwanazi at the official handover.
“I am tremendously proud not only of the work we have done here but in the significant investments we have made in education, which is the key driver if our country is to rid itself of unemployment, inequality and poverty,” he continued.
Department of Education’s chief education specialist Catherine Masongo said:
“Education is a societal matter and cannot exclusively be left in the hands of a single department. It is up to all of us, as government, business partners and other stakeholders to work together. This new structure we see here signals human dignity and all of us are touched by what has happened today.”
The facility will remain in use until Eskom relocates it to a permanent site. Eighty percent of the project was completed using local labour, with 20% of community members being empowered with new skills.
Every year, Anglo American ploughs significant resources into programmes that will uplift the standard of education in South Africa. These include early childhood development, school infrastructure projects, teacher development programmes, supplementary classes in Maths and Science, adult basic education, bursary schemes, learnerships and community scholarships.