Premier takes mining rights stand

THE North West premier yesterday took a stand over tribal mining royalties, saying the provincial government had recommended that “communities become shareholders”.

NORTH West Premier Thandi Modise yesterday took the stand over the controversy surrounding a bank account holding mining royalties meant for tribal authorities, saying the provincial government had recommended that communities become shareholders rather than recipients of royalties.

“If possible, they must be in a position to mine out mineral resources in their ancestral land,” Ms Modise said at a public hearing after being summoned by the provincial standing committee on public accounts (Scopa), which is seeking answers on funds missing from the D-Account (development account).

The balance on the controversial D-Account is expected to be more than R400m — based on the payments mining companies declared before Scopa last month.

However, the account has not been audited since 1994 and a substantial number of transactions had been unaccounted for.

It is estimated that as little as R18m may be left in the account.

Two probes, by the public protector and the North West premier’s office, are also under way to establish how the funds were spent and who authorised the spending.

The D-Account is managed by the North West government on behalf of about 800 beneficiaries, among them traditional authorities.

Mining communities expected to benefit from the royalties, such as the Bapo ba Mogale in Rustenburg’s Marikana platinum belt, have complained there was no evidence the money was used for community development. Miners in the platinum belt have been criticised for not doing enough to contribute to the socioeconomic development of communities where they conduct busi- ness — a factor seen as playing a role in events leading up to the Marikana massacre last year.

Ms Modise said North West had, “in agreement with Limpopo and Northern Cape, been trying to lobby (the) Department of Mineral Resources and the presidency on a discussion around mining issues”. The provincial government had recommended that “tribal communities take themselves out of royalties and be shareholders,” Ms Modise said.

Philly Mapulane, a member of Scopa and the African National Congress national executive committee said: “It was also our view that we must move away from a system where mining companies pay royalties, to a point where communities are able to extract the minerals themselves”.

Mr Mapulane’s colleague in Scopa, Olefile Sefako, also lent his support for share ownership, saying royalty agreements were concluded before 1994, and that the life span of mining was uncertain. “Communities should have an upper hand in shareholding because this mining is happening in their own land.”

Spokesman for the Bapo ba Mogale royal family, Vladimir Mogale, said on the sidelines of the public hearing that the traditional leadership would consider the proposal for equity participation. But Mr Mogale also said the community was not paying tax for the royalties it was receiving and such factors would need to be considered.

However, a spokesman for the community, Monageng Monnana, said a resolution had been taken in 2008 that the Bapo ba Mogale should “corporatise to form Bapo Holdings. I do not know what is causing the delay,” Mr Monnana told Business Day.

The affairs of the Bapo ba Mogale were placed under administration by the North West government. Three administrators had to date been appointed to run the community’s business. The administrators had been accused of participating in the embezzlement of the community’s funds, including paying themselves hefty amounts from the D-Account. An unfinished R60m palace, initially put at about R25m, had been built under the administrators’ watch.

Ms Modise said administrators were on the government payroll. She suggested that Scopa schedule a closed meeting with stakeholders to deal with the allegations of mismanagement of the D-Account. However, no date has been set yet.

She also said that in their home countries, the treatment mining companies offered workers was different.

“If you look at what some of these companies are doing in their home countries, you cannot but get angry,” Ms Modise said.