JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Trade union Solidarity has welcomed the Johannesburg High Court’s ruling on the “once empowered, always empowered” principle in mining, ensuring that black economic empowerment (BEE) statuses remain unchanged even if black owners sell their shares, and historical empowerment transactions will still be recognised by the courts.
This follows after the court ruled that it could not be expected of mining companies to maintain a 30% BEE ownership rate.
Solidarity mining industry deputy-general secretary Connie Prinsloo said a great deal of uncertainty about the interpretation of this principle had prevailed and that it posed an obstacle to effective discussions between the parties involved.
“There can now be more certainty in negotiations following this ruling,” he enthused.
The ruling also serves as a pointer for the Mining Charter negotiations which are under way between government and industry.
“We trust that, given the High Court ruling, further litigation will be prevented and parties will negotiate on a collaborative, rather than an antagonistic footing,” Prinsloo concluded.