Local Development Agreements prioritises large multi-year high impact programmes

After extensive negotiations, Sasol has concluded 2 Local Development Agreements (LDAs) with the communities of Inhassoro and Govuro districts in Inhambane Province, where the Pande/Temane gas fields and Central Processing Facility (CPF) are located.

The LDAs represent a tripartite agreement between Sasol, local communities and district governments and are aimed at aligning the priorities of all three parties.

From Sasol’s perspective, the LDAs are an opportunity to build on and leverage the Social Investment platform – totalling approximately US$40 million between 2004 and 2018 – already established by Sasol and its partners. LDAs also facilitate the implementation of Sasol’s ‘Shared Value’ strategy in a structured manner that aligns with community and local government expectations, as well as with the Government of Mozambique’s Corporate Social Responsibility Policy for the Extractive Sector.

Consultation with the covered communities and district governments indicated that the number one priority was water and sanitation, followed by access to electricity and economic development.  Activities aimed at stimulating and enhancing the local economy, with the overall aim of increasing household incomes, were also identified as a priority.

The identified priority projects will be implemented with the help of partners such as the German development agency, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) andSNV Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) which have specialist expertise in agriculture, energy and water, as well as sanitation and hygiene.

The priority projects are essentially large multi-year high impact programmes, with the potential to extend coverage beyond primary to secondary beneficiaries.

Under the LDAs, there are two further categories of investment: stand-alone social investment projects and small-scale social investments.  Stand-alone projects are one-off infrastructure projects identified through the community prioritization process. Examples include health centres and schools. The small-scale social investment fund will respond to community requests for small-scale contributions to community development like shelters for meetings and football grounds.

Ovidio Rodolfo, Sasol Country Manager commented, “We are proud to be the first company in Mozambique to implement LDAs which are aligned with CSR Policy and Implementation Guidelines approved by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources in January 2017.

“We believe the LDAs will establish the foundation Sasol to build strong relations with stakeholders by working together under the principles of shared ownership, mutual responsibility and long-term commitment.  They will also help to drive socio-economic development in the targeted geographies which in term will promote greater Shared Value in line with our Mozambican strategy.”