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Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu. Photo: Leon Nicholas.
The coal mining sector must take stock to resolve the problems experienced by small producers and aspirant exporters through the privately owned and operated Richards Bay Coal Terming, says Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu.
Speaking at the Coal Exporters Conference on Thursday Shabangu said: “There are certain elements who seem determined to keep competition out by either denying junior miners allocations or charging them exorbitant prices for access to this facility.”
Richards Bay Coal Terminal has Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Kanga Coal, Sasol Mining and Xstrata among its shareholders. The terminal exported 65.5 million tons of coal in 2011.
Shabangu said she hoped the coal-mining sector would do something more tangible and inclusive to alleviate the plight of the junior operators who also find it difficult to access funding for their exploration and mining activities.
“This leads to some of these players selling their properties prematurely, which defeats the objective of raising levels of participation of BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) in the sector,” she said.
Shabangu bemoaned what she called the continued reliance of the sector on the previously advantaged 20% of the population, obsessed with a bottom line approach at the expense of national objectives, and that it had undermined the objectives of this sector.
“We need to use the wilfully excluded vast human capital to devise a truly South African solution to the challenges facing this sector. More disappointing is the habit of most BEE companies merely to buy these assets and yet still perpetuate the pre-1994 trend, in terms of their asset management and control,” she said.
Shabangu then claimed there were certain elements that seem determined to keep competition out by either denying junior miners allocations or charging them exorbitant prices for access to this facility.
“I hope the sector will do something more tangible and inclusive to alleviate the plight of the junior operators. Additionally, these junior operators tend to find it difficult to access funding for their exploration and mining activities,” she said.
Shabangu then said that the industry would be keenly following the deliberations of the ruling African National Congress during the course of this year as they would have an important bearing on the coal industry.
The ANC has been investigating the nationalisation of the mining sector over the past year and its report should be included in a number of policy documents that were to be distributed to its branches in preparation for its July policy congress. - I-Net Bridge
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RNT, wrote
With all due respect Ms Minister, you and your government must wake up! These anti-competitive antics by RBCT are nothing but the order of the day by big capital in this country. Its war waged against black enterprise. We are in an era of a new type of struggle - the economic struggle. Throughout the corridors of big business (which happens to be white by the way) the screws are being tightened by way of keeping black business from meaningful participation across all sectors of the economy. They envisage the pie as being too small to share. While you and your fellow government fat-cats are snoozing aspirant black entrepreneurs are being kept out by the very same gate-keepers who have been benefiting from the old, white-only government of the Nats. Black professional too are made to feel unwelcome and undeserving of the positions they occupy – be it in the banking sector, law, engineering, technology, and others. These are the folks who have had faith in this government to help create better working environment for all - but no, you don’t know the f* about running a successful government, let alone having an efficient, well regulated private sector. These is all happening while you and your other incumbent comrades are busy chanting and munching on some finger snacks and sipping on the finest wine at some government function or conference the resolutions of which will yield nothing but more carbon emissions in the form of wasted paper. Don’t blame RBCT though – blame yourselves and the rest of government inc. You introduce new laws year after year to curb this or regulate that. Meanwhile what really needs some serious regulation is government itself. Leave the blood-thirsty media to do their jobs the best way they know how – shove your secrecy bill, it can only make matters worse. STOP trying to regulate that which doesn’t require regulating. Here is what needs fixing first: 1. Get rid of corruption in your government 2. Expel incompetent public office bearers 3. Fix the education system and stop debilitating the future black nation 4. Eliminate party politics from clouding and incapacitating provincial and municipal departments 5. Bring some dignity into government, and 6. Stop getting fat on the job The list can be endless. In short clean up your own house first and then you’ll be able to regulate and eliminate hooliganism in the private sector. Until then just forget it – no one take this government seriously. And in closing, please stop promising the poor people what your government can’t provide for. RNT, Pretoria
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