As South Africa endures some of its most difficult economic times yet, the country should recognise the importance of supporting responsible manufacturing practice in its cement sector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The call comes from Hannes Meyer, cementitious executive at leading cement producer AfriSam, who emphasises the strategic value \u2013 both economic and social \u2013 in a sector that generates this vital commodity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs the backbone of our national infrastructure, cement is also a product that represents our highest aspirations of mineral beneficiation,\u201d says Meyer. \u201cTo produce this valuable resource, we must start with mining our own deposits. We then process the ingredients through complex technologies that demand considerable financial investment and expertise.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The range of products that result must form part of an intricate supply chain before arriving where it must be used, he says. Almost the entire value chain, however, is local \u2013 creating market demand and local job opportunities all along the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn addition to the basic requirements of the cement business, South Africa\u2019s cement producers are also mineral rights holders who must comply with mining regulations, which includes Social and Labour Plans,\u201d he says. \u201cIn addition to normal business legislation, we must go the extra mile to promote development in and around the communities where we operate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He points out that this is currently more difficult for cement producers than for miners of more high-value commodities, who are currently benefiting from buoyant prices set by global markets. In contrast, cement prices are determined by demand in the country\u2019s building and construction sectors, where performance remains lacklustre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDespite the challenges, local cement producers like AfriSam continue to meet compliance requirements, as these align with our underlying corporate commitment to the future of Africa and the planet,\u201d says Meyer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Added to the industry\u2019s responsibilities, he notes, is the growing pressure on all South African businesses to reduce carbon emissions in the interests of a low-carbon future that responds to the growing dangers of climate change. As an energy-intensive sector, cement production is researching and applying various innovations to reduce its carbon footprint. The government\u2019s recent carbon tax \u2013 which is payable by local producers \u2013 has created a further imbalance in the market that disadvantages local players, he pointed out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith the wholesale import of cement from countries unencumbered by a carbon tax, there is no level playing field for responsible local manufacturers who are often undercut by imports not governed by our rules,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The danger of further weakening the South African base of responsible manufacturers, he says, is that the country will need to rely mainly on its own internal capacity if it wants to generate inclusive and sustainable economic growth into the future. With government hoping to raise infrastructure expenditure, there must be strong local construction expertise and products to implement these projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAn important part of local cement producers\u2019 contribution is the skills and technology development that we continue to generate for the South African economy,\u201d says Meyer. \u201cWe develop skills in local communities, and opportunities for small black-owned businesses, as well as for women and youth in our supply chain. This is a core pillar of responsible manufacturing that the country should support and reward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With longstanding oversupply conditions in the cement sector, it is vital that South African cement producers, consumers and government alike continue to support responsible manufacturing practices. AfriSam cementitious executive, Hannes Meyer highlights that the sector brings far more than just cementitious products to the market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6043,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-6041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-client-focus","tag-afrisam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}