Mosebenzi Zwane
Photo by: Duane Daws
CAPE TOWN (miningweekly.com) – The completion of the amendments to South Africa’s Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) was being treated as a matter of urgency, Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said on Monday.
Delivering the keynote address at the opening of Investing in African Mining Indaba, Zwane said that the government was also reviewing the Mining Charter and its targets that would remain applicable beyond 2016.
The Minister emphasised the political stability that South Africa was able to provide, along with the rule of law and the promotion of the highest protection for those who invested in the country.
The country provided the required infrastructure and created an enabling environment and the ease of doing business.
Labour stability was being achieved and there were fewer work disruptions with lessons needing to be drawn from the prolonged platinum strike, where there were no winners.
While ideology and tactics of labour unions differed all should ensure that industrial action should not give expression to violence.
Job losses remained a concern and the Minister called on captains of industry to do everything possible to preserve jobs.
He said that empowerment was taking place at a slow pace and that the government’s quest for inclusive growth and the involvement of women in mining was based on ensuring a better life for all in South Africa.
Peter Leon, partner and co-chairperson at international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, which has opened an office in Johannesburg, said the Minister "made all the right noises" in promising to address regulatory uncertainty in the mining and resources sector and solving issues associated with the Mining Charter out of court, but unfortunately provided little detail on how he was going to give effect to any of these undertakings.