Tracking Development - Rio Tinto - Qit Madagascar Minerals

The construction Phase
stimulating Local Employment
Although skilled positions were generally externally recruited,
all unskilled or semi-skilled labour was recruited locally; of
the 4,500 total jobs, 3,600 positions were filled by Malagasy
people, of which 70 per cent were from the Anosy region.
To prepare for the construction phase of the project, a
qualitative aptitude test, the Dover test, was administered to
interested local applicants. The test was conducted to screen
and quantify available candidates above a certain threshold,
assessing hand-eye coordination, short training time and
retention of acquired skills over time. This enabled QMM to
select the most suitable applicants and provide a pre-selected
list of potential employees to contractors, ensuring effective
and efficient local recruitment.
A key challenge was the safety and training of employees,
many of whom were farmers and fisherman who had
never worked on a construction site before. This was done
successfully, with over 14 months without a Lost Time Injury
and the lowest All Industry Frequency Rate in the Rio Tinto
Group. As a result, the project was awarded the Chief Safety
Award “in recognition of efforts taken to achieve outstanding
safety performance and a sustaining safety culture.”
Monitoring Inflation and Migration
QMM is committed to mitigating any potential negative
impacts its operations could have on the Anosy region.
To manage inflation, QMM monitored the prices of major
commodities in Fort Dauphin between 2005 and 2008
through a contract with the Institut National de Statistique de
Madagascar (INSTAT, or National Institute of Statistics). The
changes in consumer prices in the region before and during
construction were examined. Studies also compared prices in
Fort Dauphin with those of other major cities in Madagascar
over a designated period of time. The data was then made
available to partners and local NGOs. To improve the quality
of information, QMM introduced a “mystery shopper”
programme, whereby residents from Fort Dauphin’s poorest
areas were given a small amount of shopping money once
per week. Purchasing specific products from different
markets, they reported the costs and kept the goods as
compensation.
Rice is the staple food and crop in Madagascar. During
the lean season, typically from October to April, rice
shortages have been recorded in Fort Dauphin. Recognising
a population influx could have an effect on rice availability,
QMM initiated a programme to stabilise the price of rice.
Through meetings with stakeholders; affected households,
local government members and regional authorities, a rice
monopoly was discovered to exist in the region. QMM
assembled and supported a group of local wholesalers and
encouraged networking between the different entrepreneurs.
Provisioning and logistical support was provided, including a
storehouse. Working with a local bank, QMM supported
the wholesalers in their microfinance initiatives and provided
a letter of guarantee for the participants. As a result, the
price of rice in the local markets fell by 15 per cent between
January 2007 and January 2008.
Despite numerous positive efforts undertaken, the price
of certain staples and services, such as housing and many
food products, inexorably climbed. This created tangible
problems for those in the population who were not
employed or indirectly benefiting from QMM, with the poor
most heavily impacted. The influx of some available income
also increased local inequality even as it benefited the many
who were employed.
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