Johannesburg - Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane has indicated that consultation on the draft mining charter, which stipulates that 26 percent of future mining rights should be in black hands, will probably be extended beyond the 30 days should the need arise.
“We are saying let us not cling to the 30-day period. We are government. If there are any issues that require us to go beyond the 30-day consultation period, we will do so,” Zwane said on Friday. “What we must not do for the people of South Africa is to cast an aspersion that there is a trust deficit. We are doing our work of legislate.”
Backlash
The Department of Mineral Resources has received a backlash from the mining industry for publishing the draft charter in the government gazette earlier this month without consulting widely.
Zwane said on Friday that it had not been possible to consult with all stakeholders prior to the publication of the draft charter. “We have many stakeholders; it could not be possible to engage all of them.”
He added: “We met with the Chamber last Friday and they indicated it was tradition that they were consulted prior the publication of the charter. We said they were not the only stakeholder with whom we had to consult.”
The charter is the government’s plan to address the legacy of apartheid as part of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act.
It first came into effect in 2004 and a revised version was gazetted in 2010.
The revised charter also placed thresholds for the meaningful economic participation of black people, saying the 26 percent stake shall be allocated in no less than a minimum of 5 percent shares equitably distributed among workers (in the form employee share ownership schemes), black entrepreneurs and communities, respectively.
Chamber spokesman Charmane Russell said there were detailed and complex matters to discuss regarding the draft. “So we would support an extension of the period. At a meeting with the (Department of Mineral Resources) last week Friday, the minister indicated to the industry that an extension was likely.”
Russell said there were many constructive discussions that happened all the time. “However, the chamber has registered its dissatisfaction that it wasn’t consulted prior to the publication of the draft revised charter.”
In its research released last year, the chamber said the industry had met and exceeded the 26 percent ownership target by 2014.
The chamber has approached the High Court to seek a declaratory order on the interpretation of empowerment deals signed by the industry between 2004 and 2014.
This decision, which is only expected later this year, will undoubtedly influence both the assessment of the industry’s historical performance in terms of ownership and the way forward, and could significantly influence this version of the charter.
BUSINESS REPORT