Presidency regrets lack of consultation
The Presidency says it regrets that there was “insufficient consultation” during engagements with the Chamber of Mines over the postponement of the court case challenging the Mining Charter.
The Presidency says it regrets there was “insufficient consultation” during engagements with the Chamber of Mines over the postponement of the court case challenging the Mining Charter.
The statement comes after mining communities, trade unions and other applicants in the matter clinched a victory in the High Court in Pretoria on Monday.
According to the order issued by the court, the communities affected by mining are to be considered as interested and relevant stakeholders in the consultations over the charter.
Should the chamber and government exclude the other parties in discussions, the communities would have access to the court to compel them to do so. The case was postponed to make way for negotiations.
The Presidency said the ruling would enable all stakeholders to tackle the concerns raised by the mining-affected communities, which among others included lack of engagement on the agreement reached between the Chamber of Mines and the Department of Mineral Resources to postpone Monday’s court hearing.
The Mining Affected Communities United in Action and Women Affected by Mining United, the Chamber of Mines and others applied to the court requesting it to set aside and review the Mining Charter. The industry said if it were implemented, the charter would jeopardise the viability of a sector that was already under economic pressure.
Community members saw their inclusion as an opportunity to voice their discontent about the effect of mining on their quality of life, saying mining companies often failed to live up to the commitments made when operations started.
Community leader Meshack Mbungula said those who concluded mining deals without the input of communities did not focus on critical issues that affected lives, such as forceful removals, pollution and contaminated water.
“We wanted the order because we have learnt from the past. We wanted to be consulted and take part in formulating the Mining Charter,” he said.
“We even drafted our own people’s charter and gave it to them, but it was not included. Now we will use the order if they do not consult us,” he said.
On Sunday, the Presidency and the Chamber of Mines announced that after engagements it was decided that the matter would be postponed.
However, the communities that were co-applicants in the matter along with the chamber went ahead with the case and presented their own demands.
Judge Dunstan Mlambo said the concerns raised by the applicants were well grounded and showed apprehension that they would continue to be excluded.
“Why were they excluded from this weekend’s discussions?” Mlambo queried.
Although the Presidency did not answer Mlambo in the statement issued on Monday, it reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that communities are “integrally involved” in consultations on all matters related to the development of the sector, including the Mining Charter.