Ready to do battle:
Minister says more battles will be fought in the courts if the mining industry does not accept the transformation policy document
Mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe at the Joburg Mining Indaba on Thursday. He says SA’s mining industry better prepare for protracted court battles on the Mining Charter, if it does not accept the transformation policy document.
SA’s mining industry had better prepare for protracted court battles on the mining charter if it does not accept the document outlining transformation of the sector, mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe said on Thursday.
The Minerals Council SA, the industry lobby group, has lodged court papers contesting aspects of the third charter gazetted by Mantashe in 2018.
While the industry broadly welcomed the charter, which sets out changes to the racial make-up of the industry that mining companies are obliged to make to retain their rights, the council has contested the clause that demands renewed empowerment deals of up to 30% black ownership on mining right renewals and asset sales.
The industry argues that value had already been created for empowerment partners in the original deals to secure mining rights and it was unfair to expect them to continue topping up ownership levels once those partners left. Mantashe rejected these arguments at the Joburg Mining Indaba on Thursday, giving about 500 delegates a history lesson on apartheid and the thinking of the ANC.
The mining industry and all its players have pleaded for regulatory certainty for years and that the dispute over the ownership clause as well as aspects of procurement, combined with the frequent changes to the charter making it more onerous, were working against that certainty and investment decisions.
“They [the council] take us to court. I say there you are, you are not used to stability. You want other uncertainty so that you have something to complain about. They said, it’s not the issue but that they want to be sure about principles,” Mantashe said.
“They want once-empowered always-empowered. You want us, the department, to say they [the empowerment partners] are still there because they were once there. It’ sa strange principle.
“Depriving black South Africans, who are the 80% majority, from participating in the economy one way or the other is a miscarriage of justice. Once we understand that, we can talk about the pace,” he said.
“Until we have that discussion candidly, we are going to stay in court all the time [debating] on principles that are not principles.”
Mantashe then gave an interesting interpretation of broadbased black economic policy, arguing it was designed to initially create a coterie of black capitalists instead of benefiting communities around mines, where there are tensions, and employees, who were now relegated to second place.
“One of the mistakes we make in talking about broadbased black economic empowerment is making as if it is a social programme that will benefit everyone. Until we are categorical that [the] programme is about creating black capitalists, once we understand that, then we’ll assess its success and failure on the correct basis.
“But if you think that it will make SA a country of business people, it will be a failure forever. If it creates black capitalists … then we are doing a good assessment. Then we’ll talk about other programmes intended to benefit society and communities. Those will be programmes to invest in social licences for mining companies.”
DEPRIVING BLACK SOUTH AFRICANS FROM PARTICIPATING IN THE ECONOMY
IS A MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE