REHABILITATION
Pieter Scholtz is the technical director at Zutari
The narrative of the-box thinking has not been a development (ABCD) as one engagement is strength of mining companies, of its cornerstone processes. which then rely on experts like immediately changed from The ABCD process operates Zutari to co-create appropriate from the premise that “nobody mistrust to authentic solutions in this regard. has nothing, everybody has collaboration and the An example of a sustainability something”. Thereby, it empowers co-creation of solutions.” initiative for the mining local communities to reduce industry that Zutari their dependency on external is currently involved with is Impact entities for their survival and development. It also Catalyst. Founded by Anglo American, enables them to develop networks and identify the CSIR, Exxaro, the Office of assets to start small- and large-scale initiatives for the Premier in Limpopo, World the benefit of all – with a view to sustainable longVision South Africa and Zutari, term empowerment. Impact Catalyst plays a major “When we began working on these types of role in nurturing the largeprojects, we soon realised we needed something scale projects necessary for completely different – which resulted in us sustainable PCD while the embracing the ABCD process,” explains Scholtz. This mines are still operational. has since become a key pillar of Zutari’s co-created asset-to-asset approach across a range of industry Ensuring support sectors – from mining to infrastructure. Traditionally, In order to ensure that PCD a consultant approaches a community with a projects are supported by predetermined ‘solution’, without authenticity and all stakeholders, Zutari without transparency. “That immediately creates uses asset-based mistrust and distance, and it specifically does not community result in collaboration.” Co-creating initiatives In contrast, the ABCD process starts by creating an awareness in the communities of the assets they already have. Once they realise that they actually have a lot to offer and to capitalise on, they become enthused and entrenched in the process. From there, PCD initiatives can be co-created with the communities, government, funders, financiers and lenders, and other stakeholders by building on the assets already available in the communities and the area. “The narrative of engagement is immediately changed from mistrust to authentic collaboration and the co-creation of solutions,” explains Scholtz. These cocreated PCD initiatives and enterprises are much more likely to be sustainable in the long term because everybody involved has a sense of ownership. Scholtz concludes, “The way we execute these PCD projects gives local communities hope and inculcates self-reliance. That is why Zutari is so passionate about it. The more we get this right, the more we change the prevailing narrative in the country and hopefully on the continent by delivering the message: if we co-create, we can make it work.”
