One of this country’s greatest strengths is its ability to “move on” and to do so quickly. But as the Chinese proverb says‚ your greatest strengths are also your greatest weaknesses.
South Africa’s resilience and pragmatism in the face of myriad problems can also lead it to evade responsibility.
In other words‚ corporate leaders need to see beyond Farlam and, rather than use the official inquiry’s diffidence as an excuse for inaction‚ they should anticipate further trouble and proactively recalibrate their government relations and social stakeholder engagement strategy.
Where Farlam was more assertive was in finding that Lonmin had failed to do what it said it would do in its social and labour plan. There is uncertainty as to how far the socioeconomic responsibilities of mining companies and the government overlap‚ but a key takeaway for anyone doing or planning on doing business in South Africa is that social and labour planning should be a priority whether or not it is a legal precondition.
The use of force by police in Marikana was brutally disproportionate, and left Lonmin exposed. However‚ Judge Farlam found that Lonmin did not respond appropriately to the threat and outbreak of violence in the early stages of the strike by rock drill operators. Both Lonmin and the police were taken by surprise; there was inadequate planning and failure to react to the events leading up to the shootings of 34 people on August 16 2012.
So Marikana was a failure of intelligence – on the part of the state‚ whose anticipatory intelligence-gathering abilities have declined substantially in recent years‚ but also on the part of Lonmin and other mining companies. These companies failed to see and understand what was happening as the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) fractured, weakening the National Union of Mineworkers, and breakaway unions like the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union actively destabilised industrial relations and wage bargaining.
Wildcat strikes across the platinum belt were the result.
Indeed‚ the shifts in the labour movement will come to be recognised as the most significant political change of the Zuma years. ANC president Jacob Zuma was propelled to power by a coalition of forces in which Cosatu played a pivotal role; now the federation is a shadow of its former self.
The union landscape will remain dynamic‚ unpredictable and unstable for the foreseeable future.
Tensions remain high in mining areas‚ and community protests continue to target mines specifically.
These developments are connected with shifts in the ANC, the increasing political pressure it is facing and internal contestations for power.
The governing party’s preoccupation with Julius Malema and his opportunistic call for “economic freedom” was a contributing factor to the Marikana tragedy.
The ANC is likely to continue unravelling and we foresee a number of future scenarios that will require corporate leaders to have the capacity to read the political tea leaves and to position themselves accordingly.
With a few admirable exceptions‚ corporate South Africa continues to run scared of politics. It seems unable or unwilling to develop the capabilities necessary to engage with key political actors or to devote the energy and effort needed to develop durable relations with those with political power. Short-term strategies‚ sometimes founded on personal relationships or rent-seeking arrangements‚ prevail.
However‚ there is an opportunity‚ as well as a necessity‚ for companies doing business in South Africa to recalibrate their government relations strategy.
Can the 10-point plan driven by former mineral resources minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi in August this year to tackle the bottlenecks in the sector be kept on track by the little-known and inexperienced new minister Mosebenzi Zwane?
If Marikana is not to suppurate – constantly bubbling away under the surface‚ emitting discomforting odours with the occasional flare-up – corporate leaders‚ as well as those in politics‚ need to digest the full implications of the tragedy. They need to respond in a considered‚ proactive and strategic fashion.
Calland (UCT public law associate professor, Farmer, (former Lonmin chief executive) and Naidoo (Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution executive secretary) are founding partners of the Paternoster Group: African Political Insight. The group’s report on the Farlam commission is available at www.thepaternostergroup.com
Marikana still festering
South Africa’s resilience and pragmatism in the face of myriad problems can also lead it to evade responsibility.
In other words‚ corporate leaders need to see beyond Farlam and, rather than use the official inquiry’s diffidence as an excuse for inaction‚ they should anticipate further trouble and proactively recalibrate their government relations and social stakeholder engagement strategy.
Where Farlam was more assertive was in finding that Lonmin had failed to do what it said it would do in its social and labour plan. There is uncertainty as to how far the socioeconomic responsibilities of mining companies and the government overlap‚ but a key takeaway for anyone doing or planning on doing business in South Africa is that social and labour planning should be a priority whether or not it is a legal precondition.
The use of force by police in Marikana was brutally disproportionate, and left Lonmin exposed. However‚ Judge Farlam found that Lonmin did not respond appropriately to the threat and outbreak of violence in the early stages of the strike by rock drill operators. Both Lonmin and the police were taken by surprise; there was inadequate planning and failure to react to the events leading up to the shootings of 34 people on August 16 2012.
So Marikana was a failure of intelligence – on the part of the state‚ whose anticipatory intelligence-gathering abilities have declined substantially in recent years‚ but also on the part of Lonmin and other mining companies. These companies failed to see and understand what was happening as the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) fractured, weakening the National Union of Mineworkers, and breakaway unions like the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union actively destabilised industrial relations and wage bargaining.
Wildcat strikes across the platinum belt were the result.
Indeed‚ the shifts in the labour movement will come to be recognised as the most significant political change of the Zuma years. ANC president Jacob Zuma was propelled to power by a coalition of forces in which Cosatu played a pivotal role; now the federation is a shadow of its former self.
The union landscape will remain dynamic‚ unpredictable and unstable for the foreseeable future.
Tensions remain high in mining areas‚ and community protests continue to target mines specifically.
These developments are connected with shifts in the ANC, the increasing political pressure it is facing and internal contestations for power.
The governing party’s preoccupation with Julius Malema and his opportunistic call for “economic freedom” was a contributing factor to the Marikana tragedy.
The ANC is likely to continue unravelling and we foresee a number of future scenarios that will require corporate leaders to have the capacity to read the political tea leaves and to position themselves accordingly.
With a few admirable exceptions‚ corporate South Africa continues to run scared of politics. It seems unable or unwilling to develop the capabilities necessary to engage with key political actors or to devote the energy and effort needed to develop durable relations with those with political power. Short-term strategies‚ sometimes founded on personal relationships or rent-seeking arrangements‚ prevail.
However‚ there is an opportunity‚ as well as a necessity‚ for companies doing business in South Africa to recalibrate their government relations strategy.
Can the 10-point plan driven by former mineral resources minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi in August this year to tackle the bottlenecks in the sector be kept on track by the little-known and inexperienced new minister Mosebenzi Zwane?
If Marikana is not to suppurate – constantly bubbling away under the surface‚ emitting discomforting odours with the occasional flare-up – corporate leaders‚ as well as those in politics‚ need to digest the full implications of the tragedy. They need to respond in a considered‚ proactive and strategic fashion.
Calland (UCT public law associate professor, Farmer, (former Lonmin chief executive) and Naidoo (Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution executive secretary) are founding partners of the Paternoster Group: African Political Insight. The group’s report on the Farlam commission is available at www.thepaternostergroup.com
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