Friction over Mining Charter continues
IN one of the clearest indications that a major segment of SA’s business community has lost patience with the government, the Chamber of Mines spurned an invitation to a meeting with the Department of Mineral Resources just before a media briefing on the third version of the Mining Charter.
The charter has become a major point of friction between the chamber – whose members account for 90% of the country’s annual mineral production – and the department, which has lost senior, experienced officials and appears to be mired in political appointments.
The department’s last-minute invitation to the meeting in Pretoria, an hour before a media briefing yesterday, was rejected by the chamber, using unusually blunt language.
Expecting the hotly contested charter to be released at the event, the chamber said the purpose of the meeting, called by Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane, under the auspices of the Mining Industry Growth, Development and Employment Task Team (Migdett), representing the department, labour and industry, was “highly suspicious”.
“The chamber will not be attending the Migdett meeting,” the chamber said.
“Its office-bearers will not be co-opted into participating in an attempt by the [department] to provide any support into what we believe has been a flawed process by the [department].”
At its recent annual meeting, chief executive Roger Baxter said the chamber had not had any interaction with the department on the charter for two months, despite its imminent release, and the chamber kept its legal options open in the event of it being unacceptable.
A few rumours on the content of the charter have surfaced including the department raising the level of black ownership to 30% from 26%, which is a source of friction.
The regulator argues that the 2014 target of 26% ownership was missed, while the chamber argues that it had exceeded it.
Another rumour is a demand for 10% of a miner’s shares to be given to the workers. — BDLive