Events

As part of the Marikana Renewal programme, the first in a series of Pitso’s (Sotho word for ‘traditional assembly’ or ‘gathering’) was held in Rustenburg on 30-31 May 2022. The Pitsos are part of the Letsema Process facilitated by ReimagineSA. 

As part of the Marikana Renewal programme, the first in a series of Pitso’s (Sotho word for ‘traditional assembly’ or ‘gathering’) was held in Rustenburg on 30-31 May 2022. The Pitsos are part of the Letsema Process facilitated by ReimagineSA. 

The Letsema Process ensures that all stakeholder engagements foster accountability and shared responsibility rooted in Ubuntu. It creates an inclusive setting, where everyone’s voice is heard and respected.  This builds trust through observing sensitivity to trauma, injustice, gender, and discrimination heightened by poverty.

The Letsema Process consists of an iterative or repeated 6-steps. The first is Co-discovering to listen, learn and understand.  Co-initiating requires exploring the community’s collective change agenda, identifying shared interests and goals. Co-Inspiration entails discussing the past and exploring various ways to heal alongside one another.

The fourth step of Co-municating allows for the managing of stakeholder expectations and sharing of ideas. This ensures that the step of Co-creating forges deeper bonds, and enables seeing opportunity in challenges. The last step of Co-investing can therefore build on a strong foundation of collaboration. 

In the spirit of bringing African solutions to African problems, Sibanye-Stillwater’s I-CARES values are represented through the indigenous South African Umdoni tree. Each value symbolises the fundamental roots of the organisation, providing a solid basis for the way business is done. While the trunk represents the material strength of the company, the leaves represent stakeholders. The tree’s seeds and fruits epitomise benefits and value that a successful business can share with its stakeholders.

Ubuntu urges us to embrace our interconnectedness, interdependence and experience the beauty of conducting business through “I am because you are”.

The Marikana Renewal programme seeks to align corporate citizenship with communitarian culture, honouring the complexity of inherited legacies through the rebuilding of trust between the company and its stakeholders. The aim is one of co-designing and implementing social upliftment programmes in consultation with communities for delivering meaningful benefits that will outlast the life of mining operations.

With a focus on overcoming the legacy of pain and unaddressed trauma, Pitso 2022 brought forward the importance of honouring the lives of the fallen by engaging their families to help co-create a path on toward memorialisation.

Day one reported on engagements relating to the healing journey thus far. This included updates on the closure process and sharing on work carried out among families who did not get the opportunity to observe customary rituals for their lost loved ones. Updates relating to the Women and Guardians of the 1608 Trust undertaken by Sibanye-Stillwater and interested parties were also presented for feedback.

The second day dealt with Memorialisation. As part of the dialogue for honouring the deceased, draft plans were communicated to the families for the design of a Memorial at the site of the massacre. Discussions took place in the context of six focus areas: Justice, Memorial, Livelihoods, Education, Health and Housing.

Additional presentations were made by Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) and the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI).  These engagements sought to facilitate alignment and collective understanding between widows and families of those lost in the tragedy, Sibanye-Stillwater and other interested parties.

For ongoing cultivation of shared responsibility through the Letsema Process, the next steps will aim to clarify who is responsible for delivering through the creation of Task Teams. This requires managing expectations in such a way that ensures stakeholders responsible for each theme are connected to relevant parties for support.

In line with the ‘engage’ and ‘create’ phases of the Marikana Renewal Programme, future Pitsos will convene stakeholders for constructive engagement on matters of socio-economic development and land management.

The Pitsos are a step toward Sibanye-Stillwater embodying its vision of being a leader in superior shared value for all stakeholders. Through these dialogues, the Renewal Programme seeks to deliver a series of learnings for all stakeholders on the journey, and better understanding of what it means to collaborate as a collective force for good.