DA shows economic policy hand, blasts minerals bill
THE Democratic Alliance has thrown its economic policy cards on the table less than two weeks before the general election in which all opposition parties are using the 24% unemployment rate as ammunition.
DA chairman Wilmot James has launched a scathing attack on the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Bill, using it as an example of how the ANC has failed investors.
The bill is ready for enactment by President Jacob Zuma.
This is the first major policy speech on the economy in the run-up to the election by the main opposition party, which is surprising, given how late in the game it is.
The new law has aroused fears about the future of investment in mining with its provision that 20% control of all new energy-related ventures must be given, without charge, to the state. It will allow the government to declare minerals and metals such as gold and platinum “strategic”.
Companies that process them could be forced to sell part of their output to local manufacturers.
James said the bill “provides no certainty for investors, who are likely to withdraw their resources at great and unnecessary cost to the economy”.
The legislation, he said, contained 30 instances of the minister of mineral resources being empowered to change regulations, leaving investors with no certainty as to the rules of the game.
The DA clearly was not going to miss the chance to wade into the politically charged debate about the unions at a time when strikes on the platinum mines have all but brought Rustenburg to a standstill.
James said the DA believed that balloting should be required before workers could strike, and that a minimum membership threshold should be introduced to allow smaller unions to participate in collective bargaining.
Part of the problem, he said, was that Zuma was beholden to the trade union movement, which meant Cosatu might succeed in stopping the implementation of the National Development Plan.
The DA had promised to inject some adrenaline into small businesses by establishing “opportunity centres” that would assist them in doing business with the government. Small companies would also be given enhanced access to training at reduced cost, and to business support and advisory services.
To stop corruption, said James, the DA proposed allowing the public to attend meetings at which decisions on tenders were taken.
Ministers, other public servants and their immediate families would be prohibited from doing business with the state, and lifestyle audits would be used to ensure that politicians and public officials could account for their wealth.