Empowering communities

We help our host communities build resilience for posterity by supporting employees, businesses, municipalities and national socio-economic development goals through our programmes and local economic development initiatives.

Acknowledging the constitutional rights of indigenous people in our host countries, Harmony’s socio-economic impact and investments exceed compliance at every operation. At minimum, we implement legislated local economic development initiatives. In South Africa, these initiatives are outlined in SLPs attached to our mining rights. In Papua New Guinea, our commitments are set out in Hidden Valley’s MoA between government, landowners and Harmony. For the Wafi-Golpu Project, which is in permitting stage, we support a range of voluntary health and local economic development programmes, with particular focus on agribusiness.

Our Approach

We strategically implement socio-economic development initiatives aligned with national job creation and poverty alleviation imperatives. Our projects promote and support community empowerment, sustainable development and human dignity. Harmony’s approach aims to:

• Enhance broad-based economic empowerment and enterprise development through wages, taxes and royalties, contributing to the growth of local economies and country GDPs.
• Build relationships of trust through transparent dialogue and delivering on our commitments.

Corporate social investment

Over and above the regulated requirements for community development, we implement Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives through established partnerships with government and Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) operating within host communities. These initiatives are informed by varying socio-economic challenges within host communities.

The following strategic pillars (aimed at achieving SDGs) guide our focus areas in South Africa, Papua New Guinea and Australia:

• Quality education and youth development 
• Reduction of poverty and hunger
• Health and wellbeing
• Environment and safety
• Sports, arts, culture, and tradition

South Africa

Most Harmony Gold CSI initiatives are designed to empower the youth through education, skills development, and sport. For the past three years, we have facilitated access to tertiary education through our “missing middle” programme, funding 90 eligible students who otherwise will not access tertiary education, as they cannot secure bursaries or do not qualify for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. We also help nurture an enabling environment within communities by facilitating social cohesion and supporting efforts to combat crime, gender-based violence and inequality. In FY23, we invested R26 million (US$1.5 million) (FY22: R18 million/US$1.2 million) in CSI projects with positive impacts on the lives of almost 38 000 people in our host communities. This spend includes ad hoc donations from the Harmony Gold Community Trust and R5 million on strategic collaborations with NPOs:

• Enactus South Africa addresses unemployment, poverty and inequality with entrepreneurial skills development at the tertiary education level
• Harmony has been the main sponsor of the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) secondary school National Science Olympiad for the past 14 years.

The company also provides for the rental of non-residential properties to qualifying community development entities in host communities at nominal rental rates. These leases are categorised as “social leases”.  In FY23, 30 properties were leased through this programme mostly by NPOs and education-related institutions (early childhood development centres, schools and libraries, among others). The social lease benefit provided through this programme in FY23 amounted to R8 million.

Papua New Guinea

We deliver CSI programmes for Wafi-Golpu host communities and supplement our MoA programmes at Hidden Valley with ad hoc assistance as special needs arise, like emergency medical transport, food, and monetary support for bereaved families, and food donations to community events. Employees can also apply for school fees assistance for their dependents. In FY23, we invested R12 million (US$0.7 million) (FY22: R9 million/US$0.6 million) with positive impacts on the lives of an estimated 20 500 people.

Significant projects and programmes in Papua New Guinea during FY23 included:

• School fees programme benefiting 517 children of 300 Hidden Valley Mine employees
• The Cocoa partnership programme assisted 2060 farmers from the Babuaf Farmers’, Lower Watut, Labuta, Wabubu and Nasuapum cooperatives to generate income from cocoa farming and sales
• New water supply systems delivered for 450 residents and school students in Papas and Wongkins communities
• The Solar Streetlights programme established 61 lights in 42 village locations in proximity to the Wafi-Golpu Project footprint, with a combined population of 20 000 people.

CASE STUDIES