THE government and the mining industry had
reached agreement on most of the sticking points in the new draft Mining
Charter and would now deal with the "nitty-gritty", Mineral Resources
Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said on Wednesday.
He was answering questions after addressing the Chamber of Mines annual general meeting, a month after he issued a new draft charter crafted without consultation that contains drastic changes to previous versions.
Chamber CEO Roger Baxter told media after the meeting that the way the draft charter had been released was unusual, but this was a new minister with new advisers and he had acknowledged he had not followed the usual processes.
Baxter said the mineral resources department’s deadline for engagement on the draft charter was the end of May. Another draft could be circulated for comment by early July.
Separately — after the government and mining could not agree on whether mining companies continually have to find and introduce new black shareholders at a discount to maintain the 26% black-ownership level required in the charter — the Chamber of Mines has asked the courts for a declaratory order on the ownership principle.
Zwane urged mining executives to be patriotic and speak well of SA in public because negative comments made it harder to attract investment. If they had issues to raise with the mineral resources department, these should be discussed privately.
Both Baxter and chamber president Mike Teke emphasised the importance of collaboration with the government. Teke said "disagreement is not disloyalty … as Africans, we say ‘only water flows in the same direction’".
Asked on the sidelines of the meeting about a rumour that former labour department director-general Jimmy Manyi would be appointed director-general of the mineral resources department, the minister said interviews had been completed and a recommendation made to the Cabinet. It would discuss the recommendation at its meeting next Wednesday and an announcement would follow.
Manyi, president of the Black Management Forum, is noted for his abrasive style, most memorably for his remarks that there coloured people were overrepresented in the Western Cape.
Baxter declined to comment on the rumour. Asked what role the department would play in looming platinum wage negotiations, Zwane said it would not be directly involved, but urged all stakeholders to reach an agreement peacefully and speedily.
"We believe we should be able to do better this time because of the lessons learned."
He was referring to the prolonged strike and violence around Rustenburg mines that accompanied the previous round of wage negotiations in 2014.
In the prevailing difficult economic environment for mining and the country as a whole, with the threat of a sovereign ratings downgrade, "a repeat of the events around the previous wage round will be foolhardy", Baxter said.
Apart from the release of a new charter, the government has also come in for criticism for regulatory uncertainty because amendments to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act agreed two years ago have never been passed into law.
Zwane said the act was receiving serious attention and he expected Parliament would deal with it this year to bring certainty to the industry.
At the chamber’s meeting, Teke was re-elected president, and Andile Sangqu as vice-president, with Neal Froneman replacing Graham Briggs as the second vice-president.
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| Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane and Chamber of Mines president Mike Teke exchange a gift at the chamber’s annual general meeting on Wednesday. Picture: FREDDY MAVUNDA |
He was answering questions after addressing the Chamber of Mines annual general meeting, a month after he issued a new draft charter crafted without consultation that contains drastic changes to previous versions.
Chamber CEO Roger Baxter told media after the meeting that the way the draft charter had been released was unusual, but this was a new minister with new advisers and he had acknowledged he had not followed the usual processes.
Baxter said the mineral resources department’s deadline for engagement on the draft charter was the end of May. Another draft could be circulated for comment by early July.
Separately — after the government and mining could not agree on whether mining companies continually have to find and introduce new black shareholders at a discount to maintain the 26% black-ownership level required in the charter — the Chamber of Mines has asked the courts for a declaratory order on the ownership principle.
Zwane urged mining executives to be patriotic and speak well of SA in public because negative comments made it harder to attract investment. If they had issues to raise with the mineral resources department, these should be discussed privately.
Both Baxter and chamber president Mike Teke emphasised the importance of collaboration with the government. Teke said "disagreement is not disloyalty … as Africans, we say ‘only water flows in the same direction’".
Asked on the sidelines of the meeting about a rumour that former labour department director-general Jimmy Manyi would be appointed director-general of the mineral resources department, the minister said interviews had been completed and a recommendation made to the Cabinet. It would discuss the recommendation at its meeting next Wednesday and an announcement would follow.
Manyi, president of the Black Management Forum, is noted for his abrasive style, most memorably for his remarks that there coloured people were overrepresented in the Western Cape.
Baxter declined to comment on the rumour. Asked what role the department would play in looming platinum wage negotiations, Zwane said it would not be directly involved, but urged all stakeholders to reach an agreement peacefully and speedily.
"We believe we should be able to do better this time because of the lessons learned."
He was referring to the prolonged strike and violence around Rustenburg mines that accompanied the previous round of wage negotiations in 2014.
In the prevailing difficult economic environment for mining and the country as a whole, with the threat of a sovereign ratings downgrade, "a repeat of the events around the previous wage round will be foolhardy", Baxter said.
Apart from the release of a new charter, the government has also come in for criticism for regulatory uncertainty because amendments to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act agreed two years ago have never been passed into law.
Zwane said the act was receiving serious attention and he expected Parliament would deal with it this year to bring certainty to the industry.
At the chamber’s meeting, Teke was re-elected president, and Andile Sangqu as vice-president, with Neal Froneman replacing Graham Briggs as the second vice-president.
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