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JONATHAN JOHANNES
SEARLE TOLO
TWO OCEANS PAPANYANA
PLUMBING HOLDINGS

wo Oceans Plumbing owner Jonathan Searle has only been even years ago, Johannes Tolo was part of his own team of four,
part of the Anglo American Zimele enterprise and supplier and was working hard on pump and pipe maintenance at Anglo
Tdevelopment programme for a short time, but he can already SAmerican Platinum’s mining operation in Mokopane, Limpopo.
see light at the end of the tunnel. Today, his company, Papanyana Holdings, employs about 253 people –
Searle is one of 10 entrepreneurs in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, more than 150 of them permanently. And Tolo is confident that he can
who were chosen to be part of the programme after a gruelling double this number over the next couple of years; in fact, he dreams of
selection process. one day employing more than 500 people. Getting to this point, though,
Even before completing the programme, Searle has this to say hasn’t been easy. It was a combination of Tolo’s own steely will and
about it: “The idea is for us not to be forever dependent on Anglo burning ambition, as well as support from Anglo American’s enterprise
American. The programme opens doors for us in the broader and supplier development initiative, Zimele, that brought him here.
industry.” “We were just a small company working on pumps and pipes back
He is right. Anglo American calls it Zimele, and the programme then. I have Anglo American to thank today for our achievements and
could not have a better name – Zimele means “to be independent growth as a company,” says Tolo.
and to stand on one’s own feet”. He started his company in 2007 and remembers just how hard it was
Anglo American’s Zimele’s new strategy goes beyond funding. to bring in business – until 2012, when the company awarded him his
Larisha Naidoo, head of Anglo American Zimele, explains: “High first contract to maintain pipes and pumps in Mokopane.
levels of unemployment in our country means that providing He juggled this work with training through Anglo American Zimele.
funding is simply not enough any more, so we will roll out a “A lot of things were not making sense to me before, but I learnt a
demand-led development programme that mentors entrepreneurs lot about technology and many other aspects of business, thus
with a focus on young people, suppliers and enterprise generally acquiring a better understanding of business – and I can
development. Based on the needs of smaller businesses, we’ll safely say it was not at all in vain,” he says.
support businesses by supplying general business acumen, safety, Then came a life-changing opportunity, though it was slow to fully
innovation and technical capability. As a second step, access to materialise.
funding will be provided. “A tender for yellow fleet supply was advertised and we were
“What Anglo American Zimele does is help create something shortlisted. We were appointed two years later in June 2016. Our
sustainable for the people living around our mines. It’s there to employee figure rose to about 203 people as we took over yellow plant
support them in growing their businesses,” adds Naidoo. services,” he says.
Searle says he has been doing business with Anglo American Yellow plant services include the massive heavy dump trucks,
since 2005, and has high hopes for the development programme. excavators, front-end loaders and tipper trucks that transport ore at the
“It was clear from the beginning that they were looking for Mogalakwena open-pit platinum mine. Anglo American Zimele provided
companies that employed local people. We’re driven by exactly the finance to acquire the necessary equipment and has supported Tolo
that … we’re empowered to help address the issue of with intensive business skills training and mentorship.
unemployment in our localities,” he says. “Anglo American Zimele saw my passion and invested in me at a
The skills he’s developing are just one piece of the puzzle. He is time when I needed it the most. It has been a key factor in the success
also anticipating exposure for his company and even bigger of my business.”
contracts. Today, he is a proud employer of a team that includes operators,
“We’re trained in marketing; we get equipped with everything we artisans skilled in various fields, riggers, boilermakers and diesel
need to know so that we can better position our businesses in a mechanics. His company operates and maintains its own fleet and
way that they are exposed to better opportunities in the industry. equipment.
The uniqueness of this programme is that Anglo American is not So, where to from here?
pumping money into companies, but capacitates us and readies us “My eggs are currently in one basket as about 95% of my business is
for bigger projects,” Searle says. with Anglo American. But, with the skills and experience acquired
He is already dreaming big and has no doubt that all his dreams through the mining company, I am confident enough to go out in
will be realised. search of opportunities with other companies, including state-owned
“I have identified a few gaps that will be fixed as part of making enterprises,” says Tolo.
us a self-sustainable business. As we grow, there will be a need to “Our aim is to diversify in the mining industry and get involved in
create an organogram that will not see me play more than one role actual mining operations. At some point, we also want to be able to
due to financial constraints, because we will then be able to manufacture some of the equipment and material such as the pipes
employ the right skills as finances improve,” Searle says. and pumps that we use in our work.”
His main aim is to evolve his company into a training centre for Head of Anglo American Zimele, Larisha Naidoo, describes
his employees, who would be trained and empowered at the same Papanyana’s success as an excellent example of how sustainable local
time, helping Searle ensure he is able to source staff locally. procurement networks can be built in South Africa.
Searle currently employs 21 people permanently and believes this “We see entrepreneur development as a major factor in creating
can increase – along with his annual turnover, which sits at sustainable businesses and communities that will thrive long after the
between R6 million and R7 million. mining operations they serve are gone,” says Naidoo.
14 ANGLO AMERICAN 25 REASONS TO BELIEVE