Mining Charter will foster ‘more inclusive economy’

MINERAL Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane has said the 2017 Mining Charter was meant to provide practical expression to the goal of a more inclusive economy.

“We encourage the young people, who are the future of this country, to embrace the Mining Charter by exploiting the opportunities to be unleashed by this instrument of change,” Zwane said.

“We will be embarking on provincial roadshows in the next two weeks to raise awareness and to take the charter to the people,” Zwane said when tabling the Department of Mineral Resources’s budget of R1.779 billion in the National Council of Provinces on Wednesday.

The Chamber of Mines has rejected the charter, saying the department did not hold meaningful consultations with it before introducing some of the charter’s provisions. The Chamber said it would approach the courts to have the implementation of the charter interdicted.

In terms of the revised charter, holders of mining rights that have complied with the black-ownership target of 26% will have to “top up” their black ownership to 30% within 12 months from the date on which the charter takes effect.

Entities applying for prospecting rights will be required to have a minimum black-person shareholding of 50% plus one. These shareholders must have voting rights.

The National Union of Mineworkers has welcomed the Mining Charter, saying it appreciated the increase in minimum black ownership to 30%.

Zwane said the majority of the people of South Africa were excluded from the economy.

He said the economy remained lopsided, unequal and exclusive because of the legislative framework.

Zwane said this was a huge detriment to South Africa’s socio-economic growth efforts, adding that the need for radical economic transformation was stronger than ever, because it sought to redress the institutionalised monopoly of the economy.

“Economic reforms are needed to ensure broader and inclusive participation, to enable the attainment of a far more inclusive and competitive economy,” Zwane said.

“Our primary legislation, the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, is designed to facilitate easier access to the minerals beneath the soil by the people of South Africa. This piece of legislation is being strengthened in order to ensure that the majority of South Africans benefit from the country’s mineral resources sector.”

Over R900 million of the R1.779bn allocated to the Department of Mineral Resources will be transferred to the department’s entities that are responsible for research and development, skills development and beneficiation. – ANA