SA’s ‘richest tribe’ offers platinum model

While South African mining companies try to halt the spread of deadly labour strife, a kingdom that partly governs a small stretch of the country’s platinum belt has managed to transform mineral wealth into social stability.The Royal Bafokeng Nation has funnelled money it earns from its Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPLat) company into a mini sovereign wealth fund that provides cash for schools, clinics and infrastructure.It and its capital, Phokeng, stand out as a beacon of success amid the poverty of the platinum belt, where sprawling tin-hut shanty towns sit alongside billion-dollar mines digging out the precious metal used in vehicle catalytic converters.The community has not been entirely immune from the labour unrest that has rocked northwestern South Africa, home to nearly 80 percent of the world’s known platinum reserves.It has also been criticised for using the facade of traditional leadership to help mining firms expand in the region and wasteful spending on pet projects of the royal family.But supporters say its basic success in providing public services could serve as a model for other parts of the country, where the ruling African National Congress has failed to meet expectations of a better life since apartheid ended in 1994.A measure of social stability has cushioned the kingdom from the wildcat strikes that have paralysed other platinum firms, hit the rand currency and raised questions about the ability of the ANC to run a sophisticated emerging economy.More than 50 people have been killed in the platinum belt since August, including 34 strikers shot dead by police at Lonmin’s Marikana mine in the deadliest security incident since the end of white minority rule.