02 Nov 2011

Pretoria - Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu has reiterated that the nationalisation of South African mines is not government policy.

Speaking at the Deutsche Bank's 8th Annual BRICS Metals and Mining Conference in London on Wednesday, the minister said it seemed as though some had already issued a verdict on the subject.

"I am fully aware that my own repeated assurances as well as numerous statements by government and our President, have not yet removed the investor concerns in this regard. No matter how often our government states the obvious, that nationalisation is neither South African government policy, nor is it ANC policy; the controversies and potential fears do not seem to disappear," said Shabangu.

The minister said responsible political leadership needed to strike a balance between the needs of the society, especially the poor, and the sustainable approaches to economic development and growth

"It is evident that there are serious social and economic reasons that have given rise to the debate about the merits or otherwise of nationalisation. It is a fact that the prevalence in our country of the evil triplets of poverty, unemployment and systemic inequality invariably leads to despair, suffering, and widespread socio-political discontent.

"Policy controversies and political reactions to such critical issues are bound to push for the extremes with regard to policy positions - be they the occupation of financial centres or the nationalisation of natural resources," she said.

It was necessary for communities and the mining industry to coexist harmoniously.

"We have to work together with the mining industry to resolve tensions that exist between communities and mining companies and this we must resolve ... with the full consideration for the welfare of the communities and workers."

Shabangu said government had embarked on an "exciting chapter in the mining sector", as Cabinet had approved a beneficiation policy framework. The Department of Mineral Resources is currently finalisation the beneficiation action plan in consultation with all affected parties.

"The urgent elimination of the infrastructural bottlenecks remains our topmost national priority. As you know, President Jacob Zuma himself is chairing the Cabinet Commission that is mandated to deal with infrastructure issues.

"We are therefore resolute in our commitment to the promotion of our mining industry to achieve both industrial growth and social transformation. These parallel goals we will pursue via a process of continuous consultation with the affected parties including the mining industry."

The minister also noted the formation and work of the Mining Industry Growth and Development Task Team (MIGDETT), which was established at the outset of the global financial crisis in 2008.

Through MIGDETT, government has developed a medium term growth and development strategy for the mining sector in the country.

"This process has, amongst others, identified a number of changes and reforms that our mining legislation (Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act) requires for the ease of administration and the prevention of multiple interpretation of the Act.

"In this way, we will remove all ambiguities, and ensure a more efficient regulation of the licensing system. We are confident that when such reforms are made, issues such as the partitioning of mineral rights will be made possible," explained Shabangu.

She said in order to address the lack of adequate infrastructure, be it electricity, roads, or export logistics at the ports in the mining industry, government had made large investments and a Cabinet Commission had been set up to ensure a successful and timely implementation of the national infrastructural programme.

"Whilst this is our short term intervention, our National Planning Commission is set to release its medium term programme of infrastructural development later in November 2011," she said.

Government was also working towards creating a single window for processing mineral rights as well as the associated environmental authorisation and water licenses. This would ease the administrative processes both within the government as well as for mining companies.

Shabangu said these efforts demonstrated that government listened to the investment community and would assess and implement whatever measure was in line with national interest.

It also showed that government was implementing initiatives aimed at improving the administrative operations which would go a long way to help South Africa regain its global competitiveness in the sector.

The minister added that while the ANC was "mulling over" the issue of nationalisation, the department was focused on improving its own operation efficiencies. - BuaNews