CEO Review
Raymond Chirwa
Chief Executive Officer |
A commitment to sustainable business practice is embodied in the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) philosophy. We are of the firm belief that our proven ability to sustain our business during the past three decades is the positive result of our focus on our economic, environmental and social performances, which supports our strategic approach to business.
One of South Africa’s key challenges is the need to transform the economy so that it reflects the country’s cultural diversity and democracy. During 2007 RBCT celebrated a historical milestone when we announced the eight successful applicants in respect of the nine million tons of coal export throughput capacity of the Phase V Expansion that was made available to aspiring Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) exporters.
The outcome of the process was firmly in line with RBCT’s vision for advancing black economic empowerment and achieving fully representative ownership and participation in the global coal market. Six BEE companies will become shareholders of RBCT while the other two companies will be long-term commercial users of the Terminal. The handling of these exports is dependent on the readiness of the mines and the rail infrastructure when the expansion project is commissioned in 2009.
We recognise that sustainability is not an overnight occurrence but a continuous process that constantly generates challenges, some new, others recurring. Society’s quest for development that is sustainable will continue to present RBCT with opportunities and challenges which will be integrated into our overall business strategy.
Through the improved Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework we believe that our reporting practices promote transparency, enhance the clarity and credibility of our communication with our stakeholders, facilitate comparisons across various organisations and address issues that concern stakeholders.
Operational Performance
RBCT continues to provide its shareholders and commercial users with a lean and efficient coal-transfer service. 2007 and 2008 was a year with a combination of lowlights and highlights in terms of operations. We achieved a significant improvement in our Train Handling Time from our previous best record achieved in 2006.
Safety, Health and Environment
Safety, health and environmental performances are managed within the company by way of the OSHAS 18001 and ISO 14001 management systems.
The backbone of our environmental approach is our Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE) policy which recognises that RBCT operates within an ecologically-sensitive, natural environment – characterised by the abundant plant and animal life. Bearing testimony to the health of the environment within which we operate is the flourishing Marine Reserve adjacent our site.
Through our daily operations and the commissioning of Phase V Expansion Project, we remain committed to minimising any potential for our world-class operations to negatively impact on our surrounding environment.
Our People
The people who work for RBCT are the foundation of our success. Employee issues are monitored through communication forums. Retention and productivity ratios and other relevant statistics are reviewed internally, as well as against external benchmarks and standards.
We are committed to building capacity and competences throughout RBCT and this is done through training programmes, skills development, our “Mission Directed Work Teams” and on-the-job training.
Community issues include the management of issues such as employment equity and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE), as well as a focused Socio-Economic Development (previously the corporate social investment (CSI)) programme.
We are proud of the rich cultural diversity that we have achieved at RBCT, as we strive to ensure that our workforce is truly representative of the demographics of South Africa.
Phase V Expansion Project
The Phase V Expansion Project started on 1 September 2006. To date the project is still on target –completion expected in July 2009. The project is within the budget amount of approximately R1.2 billion and in full compliance with quality requirements.
Over the next few years, it is fair to say that this will be the most demanding and exciting period in RBCT’s history and sustainable development will constitute as one of RBCT’s biggest challenges. Our obligation as a leading business is to turn the challenges into business opportunities.
We are confident that we will meet these opportunities head on, while at the same time continuing to respond to the social and environmental needs of the communities within which we operate.
