Mining rights: new bid for workable system
The department of mineral resources & energy has started a fresh procurement process to replace the antiquated SA Mineral Resources Administration System (Samrad), but the mining industry says that could take years when a proven, easily implementable, off-the-shelf system used widely in the rest of Africa is available.
Hilda Mhlongo, the department’s deputy director-general for corporate services, said the new procurement process had been initiated after the initial procurement by the State Information Technology Agency was cancelled following an audit.
The terms of reference and bid specifications were still being compiled and would be completed at the end of November. The bid will be advertised by December 15, Mhlongo said.
Samrad, which was introduced in 2011, uses outdated technology and cannot be enhanced any further, rendering it unable to deal with mining and prospecting right applications, parliament’s mineral resources & energy committee heard on Tuesday.
REJECTED
Unlike other systems around the world, Samrad does not provide an applicant with a map containing the co-ordinates and mineral deposits of the desired mining area. Moreover, it neither indicates whether there are existing rights holders over the area nor does it offer an online application process.
The procurement and development of a new bespoke system could take months, if not years, and the Minerals Council SA has urged the department for years to acquire an easily implementable system used widely in the rest of Africa. The industry offered to acquire one for the government but was rejected.
Minerals Council SA spokesperson Allan Seccombe said the effect of the dysfunctional system is clear: investment in mining exploration in SA has fallen from about 5% of global expenditure to less than 1%.
“This is a direct function of being unable to manage prospecting rights efficiently and that comes back to the cadastral system,” he said.
BACKLOG
It has also contributed to a huge backlog in processing applications for prospecting and mining rights, and the renewal of mining rights.
Mhlongo said progress has been made, with the backlog reduced from 4,647 applications in March 2021 to 2,625.
A further problem with Samrad is data not being loaded onto the system by departmental officials, which has led to the double-granting of rights, said deputy director-general Tseliso Maqubela.
About 70% of mining applications dealt with over the past 18 months have been refused because of insufficient financial data or because a right had already been issued for the identified land, Maqubela said.
The department is now ensuring that the data is uploaded, and about 70% of the work has been done and should be completed by the end of the financial year, he added.