Policy consensus needed

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s engagements with the mining sector, which resulted in the postponement of the Chamber of Mines’ application challenging the amended and more radical Mining Charter, must be seen as a return to policy design by consensus.

The president’s announcement brings public and private stakeholders back together for ongoing dialogue, rather than running to the courts to bridge differences and address the pressing politico-socio-economic challenges our democracy is facing. The Mining Charter requires policy dialogue. The courts interpret and uphold laws; they should not create policy.

More stakeholders must be brought back to the dialogue. Lessons on what brought us to where we are regarding the Mining Charter must be openly discussed.

Each stakeholder must be afforded space to present its broad issues without fear.

There is a need to understand the major issues most stakeholders agree on; also to understand major issues some stakeholders disagree on; and further to understand major issues others may still require to rethink substantively and therefore make fresh representations.

Concerted efforts must be made to involve everyone. Consultation is the blood running through our enduring constitutional democracy. Let us all support Ramaphosa by holding hands to go forward together. We drafted our Constitution through inclusive dialogue — we need to return to policy design by consensus.

Bennitto Motitswe Tshwane