Centre for Environmental Rights – Advancing Environmental Rights in South Africa

On 20 September 2021 the CER submitted a PAIA Request and cover letter to the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).

The information requested was:

1. The following records are requested in relation to the IDC’s finance and investment policies and due diligence criteria:
   – Copies of the finance and investment policies applicable to any companies or industrial undertakings funded by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), including but not limited to:
   – Responsible Investment Policy ; and
   – Environmental and Social Policy.
2. Copies of all due diligence criteria frameworks applied by the IDC, including but not limited to:
   – Development Scorecard; and
   – Environmental and Social Risk Rating.
3. Detailed information regarding the proposed time frame and process to be followed in the review and consolidation of the IDC’s responsible investment policy, as stated in a letter from the IDC to the Centre for Environmental Rights dated 30 June 2021. Please specify when the process will commence, and whether the IDC will conduct a public participation process.
4. The following records are requested in relation to the IDC’s support and funding of MC Mining Limited’s Makhado Project:
   – Copies of the social (including heritage) and environmental impact assessments and water resources impact assessments reports provided by MC Mining and considered by the IDC.
   – The list of requirements that MC Mining is required to meet in order to access IDC funding, including the list of criteria considered and applied by the IDC in its due diligence process(es) and investment decision relating to the Makhado project.
   – The record of decision making including the scores and/or extent to which MC Mining complies with due diligence criteria requested above, and all records relating to the application of the Development Scorecard, Environmental and Social Risk Rating assessment, and other factors considered by the environmental health and safety and due diligence teams.
   – The list of conditions precedent appliable to the funding agreement between MC Mining and the IDC.
   – Copies of any memorandum of understanding and/or loan, finance, or investment agreement(s) entered into between the IDC and MC Mining Limited.
5. The following records are requested in relation to the IDC’s support and funding for companies and undertakings operating within the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ), both the Northern and Southern Sites:
   1. The list of all applications made to the IDC for funding of infrastructure, commercial, and/or industrial undertakings intending to support the development of, or operate within, the Musina-Makhado SEZ, including:
      1.1. The name(s) of the entities and/or persons which have applied for funding from the IDC;
      1.2. The purpose(s) under which the applicants have applied for such funding;
      1.3. The total amount (in South African Rand) and nature of funding applied for (whether project finance, corporate credits, or any other form of financing).
6. The list of all infrastructure, commercial, and/or industrial undertakings supporting the development of, or operating within, the Musina-Makhado SEZ which the IDC has committed to fund and/or has funded), which must detail and include:
   2.1. Any memorandum of understanding and/or loan, finance, or investment agreement(s);
   2.2. The terms and conditions of the funding; and
   2.3. How much has been committed to and/or invested in the project.
   3. The due diligence framework and/or list of criteria applicable to any due diligence process(es) in relation to the extension of project finance, corporate credits, or any other form of financing to any company or undertaking supporting the development of, or operating within, the Musina-Makhado SEZ.
   4. The record of decision making including the scores and/or extent of compliance of each company or undertaking to which the IDC has agreed to grant funding measured against such aforementioned due diligence frameworks and policy criteria applicable to the Musina-Makhado SEZ development.
7. The following records are requested in relation to the IDC’s financing of the Mozambique LNG Project, as referred to on page 39 of the IDC’s Integrated Annual Report 2020:
   – Whether environmental and social impact assessments were undertaken for this project.
   – Whether the IDC considered the content of the environmental and social impact assessments in its investment decision and due diligence processes.
   – The record of decision making including the scores and/or extent of compliance of the Mozambique LNG project measured against the IDCs due diligence framework and applicable elements of the IDC’s Responsible Investment Policy, Development Scorecard, and Environmental and Social Risk Rating.
   – Copies of all environmental and social impact assessments provided and considered by the IDC.
   – The date on which the IDC concluded its agreement with Total to finance Mozambique LNG.
   – Copies of the agreement between the IDC and Total relating to funding for the Mozambique LNG project.
8. The following records are requested for the IDC’s agreement with Sasol Limited relating to the advancement of South Africa’s green hydrogen economy:
   – Copies of the memorandum of cooperation entered into between the IDC and Sasol.
   – The extent of the IDC’s financing or investment in the green hydrogen economy including a list of projects and undertakings which the IDC has funded in support of the development of the green hydrogen industry and the sum of money allocated to each project or undertaking.