NEWS RELEASE: AngloGold Ashanti Update on Unprotected Strike at South Africa mines

NEWS RELEASE: (Johannesburg)  –  AngloGold  Ashanti (AGA)  confirms that  its  mines  in  South  Africa remain  at  a standstill  amid the unprotected  strike  which  began  on 20 September  2012 at the Kopanang operation  and spread to the  remaining  five  operations  on  25  September  2012. Our priority remains to protect the safety of our employees and the communities in which we operate and we continue to work with the authorities to that end. AngloGold Ashanti has
safeguarded its own rights in relation to the strike by obtaining a court interdict to formally declare the work stoppage unprotected.

 “Clearly for South Africa’s gold sector, as for many others, there is a very clear trade-off between  investing  in the sustainability  of our business  and not putting  employment  at risk,” Chief  Executive  Officer Mark  Cutifani  said.  “If  the  current  unprotected  strike continues,  it compounds  the potential  likelihood  of a premature  downsizing  of AngloGold  Ashanti’s  South African operations.”

Our stance on the strike remains clear:

•  We are deeply disappointed that our employees have chosen to break their commitment to the current wage agreement and collective bargaining structures

•    We do not intend to reward broken commitments, violence and threats of intimidation

•  We remain  committed  to our employees  and the collective  bargaining  processes  as a way to resolve our differences with recognized unions and associations

•  We are open to consider ideas to bring forward negotiations and work together with our social partners to renew our commitment to, and delivery on, our social compact for the mining industry, as agreed in the Mining Charter

•  If striking employees return to work and engage in constructive discussion we will find a pathway to a sustainable and shared future

•  If the current unprotected strike continues, it compounds risks of a premature downsizing of AngloGold Ashanti’s South African operations

•  In a country where roughly one in four people do not have work, it is incomprehensible that strikers are engaged in activities that threaten jobs in a cornerstone industry that is central to South Africa’s growth aspirations, and where wage rates are highly competitive as compared to other labour intensive sectors in the country.

About AngloGold Ashanti’s South African Operations

AngloGold  Ashanti’s  South Africa operations  accounted  for approximately  32% of total group production during the first half of the year. Approximately  35,000 people are employed across AngloGold Ashanti’s South African operations. This figure is inclusive of contractors and those working on two major capital projects under way at the Moab Khotsong and Mponeng mines.

AngloGold  Ashanti  is a member  of the gold industry’s  collective  wage bargaining  unit at the Chamber of Mines and as such is committed to addressing demands regarding pay and other substantive issues through this framework. At present, the gold industry is in the second year of a two-year wage agreement with the latest increases, ranging from 8% to 10%, awarded to the workforce in July, under the agreement reached in 2011. A similar increase was awarded last year. South Africa’s annual Consumer Price Inflation is currently 5% in August.

SPONSOR: UBS South Africa (Pty) Limited

Released on 1st Oct. 2012

Coutesy: www.gse.com.gh

For more: www.anglogoldashanti.com 

Looking at the GH 2012 Budget, the Bond way.

The 2012 Budget with the theme “Infrastructural Development for Accelerated Growth and Job Creation” was described by the Majority in Parliament as the best ever but the Minority said it was a repetition of the past budget. The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor outlined in his speech, the plans for the Bond Market and that was what caught my attention.

Over the years, the capital market has been growing slowly and highly dominated by activities in the stock market. The bond market on the other hand is dominated by the Government bonds with very few corporate bonds. In order to ensure accelerated growth as predicted by the budget, the government plans to deepen the bond market. To ensure long term debt instruments, the government of Ghana would be issuing a 7-year and 10-year fixed rate bond next year. In addition, the government will set up a National Bond Market Committee in 2012 to undertake the tasks. Dr. Kwabena Duffour mentioned that, this Committee would be tasked to first of all, identify the constraints in the development of corporate bond market. Moreover, it would study and recommend legal, institutional and process changes needed to accelerate the development of a corporate bond market.

 The Minister further outlined that; this committee would monitor the performance of the government bond market and to improve its effectiveness as an anchor for the corporate bond market. In regards of deepening the bond market, this committee would finally assist the private sector to access the bond market by proposing appropriate financial/technical assistance mechanisms.

This move by the Government for the 2012 fiscal year is good for the bond market and the capital market as a whole.

We hope to see it manifest. Else………………….