Lonmin Fund’s Missing Millions Prompts Community Pay Reform
- South Africa plans to revise oversight of mining royalties
- Government to meet with traditional leaders later this year
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South Africa plans to reform how local communities manage and spend mining royalties after a corruption probe found that a $44 million fund bankrolled by Lonmin Plc had been exhausted.
Almost all the money received by the Bapo Ba Mogale community during the past 20 years has been spent, with the biggest amount used to build a palace for a tribal leader, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said on July 5. The palace cost at least 80 million rand ($5.8 million) despite an initial budget of 20 million rand.