Johannesburg - As South Africa prepared to commemorate 40 years since the of youth uprisings of 1976, young entrepreneurs heard yesterday that it was not enough to own shares and sit on the boards of mining companies.
Speaking in Johannesburg at the inaugural Youth in Mining summit aimed at boosting youth participation in the sector, ANC treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize said South Africa needed to grow the number of black professionals and experts in mining. “There are many opportunities in mining beyond being a shareholder. Gone is the era of those who became part of mining companies simply because they are black.
“It is not enough to remain inactive shareholders earning board fees but learning nothing about the technical operations and management of the mines,” he said.
He said a joint platform was needed for the government and mining companies to create a programme for youth empowerment in mining.
“Existing information and programmes need to reach the youth across the country, to end the desperation of youth and turn… desperation into hope,” Mkhize said.
Participation
Mkhize’s call for youth participation in mining comes amid a staggering unemployment rate, particularly among the youth. The Department of Trade and Industry has previously said the ratio of youth-to-adult unemployment is about 1:3 – meaning for every unemployed adult there are three unemployed youth.
Mkhize noted that compounding the problem of unemployment was the low entrepreneurial activity among the youth, which was at 6 percent of the total youth population and concentrated in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
“There is little or limited youth entrepreneurial activity in most mining towns, which is a serious challenge. The lack of economic opportunities have resulted in young people organising themselves against the mining companies… we have witnessed a number of disruptions in most mining towns, especially in Limpopo in places such as Burgersfort and Lephalale,” he said.
Mkhize took a swipe at procurement policies at large companies and said this needed to be beefed up. “There are large mining corporations, whose empowerment credentials seem adequate, but their procurement spent depicts no effort towards empowerment.
“Billions spent in procurement of services and goods to un-transformed ‘whites only’ companies. This must end! We now have youth with expertise who need to be given opportunities to do real business, not just cleaning, security and catering or other menial services, to tick boxes.”
South Africa is the continent’s most developed mining economy, producing 53 different minerals with the mining industry accounting for almost 8 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
Deputy director-general Joel Raphela noted the Department of Mineral Resources, in the revised draft of the mining charter, had proposed that a mining right-holder must procure a minimum of 60 percent locally manufactured capital goods from empowerment compliant companies.
The draft also proposed the revised contribution by multinational suppliers of capital goods to a minimum of 1 percent of their annual income to a social development fund. “This element further introduces contribution towards supplier development and enterprise development,” he said.
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