Ranked among the biggest private sector employers in the Lowveld region, Tsb Sugar has, over the last three decades, made a tremendous contribution to the economic growth of Mpumalanga Province. Each year, the company spends over half a billion rands in procurement, supports numerous social responsibility initiatives and has a comprehensive skills development programme. Its two sugar mills in Komati and Malelane support a R690 million per annum sugarcane farming business that is directly linked to approximately 1 500 independent growers.

Tsb Sugar is starkly aware of the responsibility it has to contribute to empowerment, economic growth and the development of the communities that support its business. Accordingly the company has launched various initiatives to address these and many other issues such as ownership, employment equity, and preferential procurement.

"We have to ensure that our workforce is broadly representative of the people of South Africa and that our procurement policies are geared towards attracting black suppliers and service providers. We cannot afford to hang fire on these issues", says Managing Director, Mr Hennie Snyman.

In addition, the company is currently consulting with government and communities on various aspects of land reform. Tsb Sugar has adopted a plan to develop medium-scale growers. The plan will serve as a conduit for the small-scale growers to make their way up to the commercial level.

Although it is still early days, Tsb Sugar is proud to report that some achievements have already been recorded in aspects of its empowerment programme. These include including the sale of a 49% stake in the citrus business, establishment of a sugar distribution enterprise and an organic products company.

Having made these achievements, the company is now turning its focus to the key issues of ownership, employment equity and most importantly land restitution. Tsb Sugar believes that by addressing these issues it is not only demonstrating its commitment to transformation, but also, and perhaps most importantly, that it is creating for itself a stable environment in which to do business.