JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) president Joseph Mathunjwa on Thursday ruled out the union’s participation in Mining Phakisa sessions.

Speaking at a mining conference in Johannesburg, Mathunjwa said he would not take part in Mining Phakisa. AMCU is the largest union on platinum mines and the second largest in the gold sector.

Mathunjwa said AMCU received an invitation to participate in Phakisa on Wednesday. “I don’t know what Phakisa is and what it is intended to do,” he said.

The union’s refusal to participate in Phakisa is contrary to the general attitude towards the initiative at the conference. In the two-day event, speakers have emphasised the need for collaboration between industry, government and labour to address the mining industry’s current challenges. The sector is taking strain from low commodity prices and declining investment.

Impala Platinum CEO Terence Goodlace was supportive of Phakisa, saying the initiative would address some of the pressing matters in the industry including modernisation, productivity and input costs.

Mining Phakisa is meant to tackle constraints to investment in and growth of mining. The Mining Phakisa sessions between government, industry, labour and academia are set to begin this month and will develop delivery action plans.

Mathunjwa was also highly critical of government, which he said is hellbent on protecting the interests of the mining industry through “liberal economic policies that do not address the ills of the past”.

Meanwhile, Anglo American nonexecutive director Jim Rutherford added his voice to the calls for regulatory certainty. He said policy uncertainty has constantly been cited as a deterrent to investment. “The competition for mining is global. Investment follows returns, not the other way round,” he said.

Rutherford said there are numerous reasons for the regulatory uncertainty. These, he said, include inconsistent enforcement of existing legislation and inadequately thought out legislative and regulatory proposals.

News24.com