The company remains committed to transformation and fully embraces the objectives of the Department of Trade and Industry BBBEE transformation guidelines. The company is proud of its progress and track record in this regard.

In line with the transformation goals of the company, the board has approved an empowerment scheme which allows the company to meet the Mining Charter’s 15% initial equity ownership target allowing conversion of “old order” mining rights to “new rights”.

The scheme comprises two elements, namely equity ownership by employees, communities and industry associations through the establishment of various trusts, and a strategic partner element by a number of strategic black partners. The board has approved the details pertaining to the structure, and legal and funding agreements are currently in the process of finalisation.

Discussions with selected strategic black partners are at an advanced stage and the legal and funding formalities together with final board approval should be capable of completion shortly. It is anticipated that the complete empowerment scheme will be presented to shareholders for approval early in 2008.

Strong corporate governance continues to be a priority. I welcome Ntombi Langa-Royds and Zibusiso Kganyago to the board as independent non-executive directors. Further non-executive director appointments are to be made and will allow more diverse representation at the board. This will also enable us to ensure the appropriate skills mix and that all subcommittees to the board are appropriately structured in accordance with the principles of good corporate governance.

Safe working conditions and wellbeing of staff in all areas continue to be a priority for PPC, and we re-committed the company to improving safety in the past year. Our safety record for 2007 has been very pleasing and we extend thanks to all our staff that put safety first. We aim to be incident- and injury-free at all operations within the group.

The past few years have seen increasingly stringent environmental legislation being introduced to South African industry. PPC embraces the high standards set by government, and is continually assessing operations and implementing measures to comply with – and in some cases exceed – standards. Regulations governing emission levels have tightened recently, requiring us to invest further to ensure compliance.

Our long-term commitment to uplifting and investing in communities in South Africa continued in 2007, with involvement in numerous new and existing enterprise development projects. We support and invest in sustainable projects and programmes that have lasting benefits to communities, rather than adopting a hand-out approach. PPC can be justifiably proud of its legacy of community work in South Africa.