Mining Charter debate parties still poles apart
Debates in the formulation of the third Mining Charter laid bare the class, race and ideological divisions inherent in South African society, leaving Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe in a nearly impossible position to please anyone.
A two-day summit last weekend provided an unprecedented insight into the debates around the draft charter released by Mantashe in June, showing the extent of his Herculean task of balancing the uncompromising demands from a broad spectrum of role players, each with vested interests and, in part, selfserving objectives that would come at the expense of others.
The fiery, populist, hardline rhetoric from the National Union of Mineworkers deputy president, Phillip Vilakazi, which drew loud cheers and ululations from the more than 1,000 delegates, contrasted sharply with the low-key, measured responses from other unions, which drew muted, polite applause at best.
The uncompromising, unrealistic demands from the South African Mining Development Association (Samda), including a 51% black ownership target, were clearly favoured by the audience above the carefully worded input from the Minerals Council SA in its push against a 10% free-carry ownership element to be shared between communities and employees.
In the middle was Mantashe, who realises he and his department must come up with a charter steering the racial transformation of the historically white-owned and managed industry without alienating investors, particularly international ones who have lost faith in SA, and that does not inflame volatile communities and labour demanding more benefits from mining.
Unlike his predecessor, Mosebenzi Zwane, who gazetted a charter that had the barest levels of consultation and was legally problematic, Mantashe is taking a far more inclusive approach. Mantashe was clear the process had all the elements of a class war and that the change needed to wrest control of the sector from one set of owners to share it more broadly was always going to be a difficult and fraught process.
He stood accused at the summit of protecting “white minority capital” at the expense of black people, while at the other end of the spectrum he has been told he is rushing through a flawed charter and jeopardising investment and damaging dwindling sentiment.
Mantashe did not appear unduly concerned, dismissing some demands as unworkable, while conceding others had merit, particularly on greater community consultation, and would be considered for inclusion in the final charter to be gazetted by November.
Mantashe and his team are keenly aware of the extremely thin tightrope he has been asked to balance on. Impatient and impoverished communities and labour — the core of the governing ANC’s voters — demand much more than he can reasonably give them in an attempt to redress the wrongs of apartheid.
“Just remember that if we put growth ahead of transformation then we will have national revolt, which none of us wants. If we have just transformation in this charter, then will have a dead industry. We have to plot the middle path,” said Mosa Mabuza, CE of the Council for Geoscience and one of the department’s toughest negotiators in the charter talks.
The clear and rational arguments from two analysts, showing a diminishing mining sector and the negative consequences of aspects of the draft charter arising from a 10% free-carried ownership of mining companies split between community trusts and employees, and the 1% trickle dividend extracted from the operating profit line to pay these beneficiaries, went barely noticed by delegates.
The populist rhetoric carried into the closed-door sessions, with little regard given to pleas for moderation. At one point police were summoned to evict people angry at Samda president Bridget Radebe, who asked for balance in the debates concerning white people, as they had started her off in business. As one participant said: “All hell broke loose.”
The charter’s recognition of past deals counting towards empowerment credits was flatly rejected by most participants, a worrying development for the council, whose members have made this one of their key demands.
Mantashe said “almost everyone” was opposed to the inclusion of this onceempowered alwaysempowered aspect. Asked if it would remain in the final version, he declined to answer.
MANTASHE AND HIS TEAM ARE KEENLY AWARE OF THE THIN TIGHTROPE HE HAS BEEN ASKED TO BALANCE ON