Embrace transformation:
The creation of black capitalists by driving transformation hard would not come at the expense of the South African mining industry, Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe said.
Speaking at the annual general meeting of the former Chamber ofMines — which was officially rebranded the Minerals Council SA at the meeting — Mantashe reiterated his commitment to bringing policy and regulatory certainty to the industry, which has regressed during long periods of uncertainty and upheaval.
“When we talk of transformation, we are not talking about destroying white business but building on what is there,” Mantashe said, urging companies to embrace transformation and lead the country in the process. Failure to do so would lead to further polarisation of communities and strife, he said.
The rebranding is a clear attempt to distance the organisation from its legacy and “negative history” when it was built and operated under the worst of apartheid-era laws, said Mxolisi Mgojo, president of the industry lobby group.
There remained “two or three” areas of disagreement in Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe, speaking here during an ANC event, has told the mining industry he wants to bring policy and regulatory certainty to the sector. /
the negotiations to reconfigure the third iteration of the Mining Charter, which the council sought to have reviewed and
withdrawn by a court order.
Mgojo told Mantashe that there were “still many rivers to be crossed” as the Minerals
Council SA’s executives forbade the minister from revealing what sticking points remained in their talks.
Under Mantashe, talks around the third charter have been under way for as long as he has been in the position. He said finalising the document — which maps the obligations of mining companies to racially transform their businesses and suppliers as well as to develop communities — was critical to restore investor faith in the country.
“We are on schedule as far as I’m concerned,” he said.
Outlining his vision of what black economic empowerment meant, Mantashe said it was the creation of black capitalists.
But this would not come at the expense of existing businesses.
Asked about the investor friendliness of the new charter, as opposed to just issuing a document that espoused similarly difficult conditions as former minister Mosebenzi Zwane’s document, Mantashe said it was being formulated through extensive talks with the department, the mining industry, labour and communities.