Mining ‘opposed to SA’s transformation’
Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane avoided addressing key aspects of the challenges raised in the Chamber of Mines’ application for an urgent interdict to halt the implementation of a controversial Mining Charter and instead accused the industry of being against transformation.
Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane avoided addressing key aspects of the challenges raised in the Chamber of Mines’ application for an urgent interdict to halt the implementation of a controversial Mining Charter and instead accused the industry of being against transformation.
The chamber on Monday lodged an application to halt what it has described as a damaging charter in which the minister demonstrated a “most egregious case of regulatory overreach” that threatened irreparable damage to an industry that has been in “crisis” for the past five years.
“It is our view that those who support this Mining Charter support our quest for transformation, and those who are in opposition to the charter are in fact opposing the transformation objectives of government, and we stand ready to defend the interests of South Africans in this regard,” Zwane said in a statement.
“As with any legislation that is developed, it is virtually impossible to please all parties. It is unfortunate that the Chamber of Mines has chosen to take this route, but their decision is respected, and the democracy we fought for allows all of us to exercise our rights in this manner. We have confidence in the courts’ ability to act with diligence on this matter,” he said.
At the launch of the charter on June 15, Zwane said the department had consulted more than 60 different stakeholders and the charter reflected what South Africans wanted to see in the racial transformation of the industry. The chamber, whose members represent 90% of SA’s annual mined value, said none of its submissions or contributions were reflected in the charter that set unrealistic and damaging targets in violation of a number of laws.
On Monday, the chamber, launched a legal broadside at Zwane and his department. It said he was acting beyond the powers granted to him under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act and that he was trying to usurp the role of the finance minister by imposing taxes on the industry to be paid either into a yetto-be-formed agency, or contravening the Companies Act by favouring black shareholders ahead of other shareholders.
The charter, which was published on June 15, knocked nearly R51bn off the market capitalisation of JSE-listed mining shares, the chamber has said.
The charter was harmful not just because of its content, but also because of its “vague and contradictory language”.