Community development

Murray & Roberts is integrated with its society and its business activities have an impact on the communities in which they are undertaken. The Group is committed to managing this impact responsibly and accepts that its obligation extends beyond statutory requirements to the upliftment of society as a whole.

The Murray & Roberts corporate social investment (CSI) program focuses on development projects aligned with the Group's business strategy, supporting mathematics, science and technology education, numeracy education in early childhood development and environmental education. Murray & Roberts supports sustainable social development through many of its community initiatives. A number of employees participate in community development as champions of projects the Group supports.

				Murray & Roberts TRAC laboratories

Investment of R21,1 million (2008: R13,8 million) in CSI projects during the year under review includes funding for the Murray & Roberts TRAC Laboratories at the University of Zululand Science Centre, Richards Bay and at Johannesburg Observatory, Johannesburg; South African Institute of Mechanical Engineers Technology Olympiad; Maths, Science and Technology in Engineering project developed by the Maths Centre; the National Business Initiative's Mathematical Literacy Pilot Project: Professional Development of Teachers; laboratory upgrades for the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand; and The Molteno Institute for Language and Literacy. Murray & Roberts has seconded a senior executive to the University of Witwatersrand to assist with the Group's significant capital expansion program.

In addition to the Group's CSI activities, the Murray & Roberts construction businesses undertake project specific socio-economic development initiatives to ensure broader socio-economic development in the communities within which the Group operates.

Murray & Roberts supports the Chair of Environmental Education at Rhodes University, a Chair of Mechanical Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand, the Chair in Collaborative Governance and Accountability at the University of South Africa and the Chair in Construction Management at the University of Stellenbosch.

Murray & Roberts has also funded the Next Generation Scholars Project at the University of Johannesburg, which is a subvention partnership aimed at establishing world class academic capacity in science and engineering disciplines.

A number of awards are made each year to recognise and reward initiatives that contribute to the enhancement of society. These include the Jack Cheetham Memorial Award for development in sport, the Des Baker Award for students of architecture and the JD Roberts Award for environmentally sustainable solutions to human dilemmas.

Murray & Roberts undertakes various enterprise development activities through its group operating companies. Activities include the procurement of subcontractors from small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME's), early payment to SMME suppliers, preferential credit terms for buyers and administration support for certain customers.

The Group and its subsidiaries belong to all the associations and organisations relevant to our sector, including the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors, the Steel and Industries Federation of South Africa and the National Business Initiative, where we are actively involved in their Education College Industry Partnerships program aimed at building strategic partnerships between companies and Further Education and Training (FET) colleges to address skills shortages.

Murray & Roberts is a member of the Major Projects Association in the United Kingdom.