Keynote Address on behalf of the Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane (MP) by Deputy Director General: Mineral Regulation, Mr J. Raphela at the Youth in Mining Summit, Indaba Hotel, Johannesburg
Programme Director
The Treasurer-General of the African National Congress, Dr Zweli Mkhize
President of the Chamber of Mines of South Africa, Mr Mike Teke
All youth formations represented here
Captains of industry
Young entrepreneurs Esteemed guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning
Let me firstly thank you for the opportunity to engage with you today. I am encouraged by your proactive stance in matters relating to our country’s economy, and in particular, the mining sector. It is this same spirit that prompted young people 40 years ago to mobilise against a system that was aimed at ensuring they would forever remain unequal and far worse off than their white counterparts.
Their unity and collective approach saw their protest spread from one township to the rest of the country, and forced the government of the day to sit up and take notice. This uprising served as a catalyst for the change that was so desperately needed. The 16th of June 1976 will therefore remain an important date in our country’s history, and an annual inspiration for you, the youth of the day, to make a positive change in whatever sphere you may be in. Today, as we commemorate this important day, those heroes and heroines who selflessly stood against the apartheid machinery, should give us courage to face the current challenges – particularly unemployment, inequality and poverty amongst young people in South Africa.
The depressed global economic environment has created challenges in the mining sector, and although we are seeing some commodities beginning to emerge from the slump, conditions remain difficult for the sector. We have seen how this has led to some of the mining companies exiting the space. We believe that this is an opportunity for new mining giants to be created, and some of those may come from among the young people of our country.
I must say it is also fitting that we gather here today as the mining sector – because it was during the month of June in 1955 that the Freedom Charter was adopted at the Congress of the People in Kliptown. Many of you would know that our country’s mining laws find their origins in this Charter, which boldly declared that “the mineral wealth beneath the soil…shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole.” The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), the country’s principal mining law, vests custodianship of these minerals in the hands of the State.
Some among you may know and understand the horrific history of the mining sector in this country. Black people, and Africans in particular, were considered to be cheap labour to supply the sector. Many of them lost their lives because their health and safety was also not considered a priority by the mining bosses. Over the past 22 years, the ANC-led Government has actively sought to develop and implement policies and laws to correct these injustices. In the mining sector, we are doing this through the MPRDA and the Mine Health and Safety Act.
Section 100 of the MPRDA - i.e. the Mining Charter – deals specifically with how we can sustainably and meaningfully transform this sector. The Charter has been implemented for the past 12 years, and while we are seeing some changes to the face of the sector, as more black people participate as owners and managers, we believe there is still some way to go before we can say that the sector has radically transformed.
We have therefore made proposals to the Mining Charter. An element that may also be more relevant to this gathering, in line with the theme, is that of procurement. We are proposing that a mining right-holder must procure a minimum of 60% locally manufactured capital goods from BEE compliant manufacturing companies. Right- holders are also required to procure 70% of locally manufactured consumables and 80% services from such companies. We have also revised the contribution by Multinational suppliers of capital goods to a minimum of 1% of their annual income to a social development fund. This element further introduces contribution towards supplier development and enterprise development.
We hope that yours will be among the submissions that the department has received, so that you are not only raising your concerns about the need for change in the mining sector, but providing possible solutions to how we can achieve our goal of meaningful transformation.
As the Regulator of this sector, which remains a key pillar to the country’s economy, we continue to support youth upliftment programmes aimed at improving the knowledge of young people about our minerals and their development. We continue to reach the youth through the departmental Learner Week Programmes where we create mining awareness by organising mine visits around the country. We also provide learnerships and internships to learners and graduates as part of bridging the work experience gap needed in the employment market.
The department has also recently appointed 38 learner inspectors, of which 42% are women, after they successfully completed a two-year training programme. This programme was initiated by the department, in collaboration with the Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA), Sibanye Gold and AngloGold Ashanti. Unemployed graduates were recruited from previously disadvantaged groups and provided with practical experience in the field of occupational hygiene, surveying, mining, electrical and mechanical engineering.
Our state entity Mintek is also making a significant contribution in this area through the implementation of initiatives aimed at training and developing young people to be leaders and experts in different areas of the entire mineral beneficiation value chain. Last year, Mintek provided practical training to a total of 148 students, in partnership with the MQA and the Department of Science and Technology.
Thirty-six (36) of these students have been placed in numerous Foundries across the country where they gain practical skills for melting metals and casting them into aluminium or cast iron products. Mintek has also been actively playing a role in helping young people, who may not have higher education qualifications, find sustainable mechanisms of generating income while also creating jobs for others in jewellery making, glass bead manufacturing and pottery.
Urban mining presents numerous opportunities for young people to use urban waste to manufacture saleable products, without necessarily having a higher education qualification. The glass bead manufacturing process is a great example of this.
Mintek provides training in the crushing of glass bottle waste using particular techniques and turning the crushed glass into beads that are then used to make products such as household decoration items and costume jewellery.
The entity has further assisted the provincial government of Northern Cape by setting up two training and beneficiation centres in Upington and Prieska which provide practical training for making jewellery from semi-precious stones – especially the tiger’s eye that is mined in the province. Participants are also assisted to develop skills for grading semi-precious gemstones using very simple techniques that are easily acquired, so that they can manufacture products that are of good quality for the market.
In 2015 during the inaugural Diamond Indaba organised by the State Diamond Trader (SDT), the South African Young Diamond Beneficiators Guild was launched. The Guild is a collective of predominantly black-owned South African small and emerging diamond manufacturers who have seen it necessary to change the future narrative of the South African diamond beneficiation sector. These manufacturers primarily focus on the cutting and polishing of rough diamonds. I anticipate that these young diamond beneficiators will serve as a mouth-piece of the small and emerging manufacturers in diamond beneficiation, with a keen focus to develop mutually beneficial relationships for its members with other sector stakeholders.
Furthermore, twenty-five (25) young South Africans are undergoing a two-year training programme which will boost our country’s cutting and polishing industries in Italy. As part of the initiative, the students will be enrolled in the watchmaker programme in Switzerland to further their learning and exposure in watch-making. A curriculum to teach watch-making in South Africa is currently being developed, and once approved, would see this special skill being taught for the first time at South African institutions.
It is through such commitments and initiatives that we as stakeholders in the mining sector can achieve the country’s call to create a nation of entrepreneurs and not only job-seekers.
On Thursday the President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Jacob G. Zuma, will lead the commemoration of Youth Day at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg. This year, Government has adopted the theme: “Youth Taking South Africa Forward” for youth month, an affirmation of the critical role that young people can play in shaping the future of the country. I am confident that you will take an active part in the commemoration of this day, wherever you may be in the country on that day.
As I conclude, it is a reality that South Africa is a youthful country and the majority of its population is young. Economic empowerment of young people is therefore not an option, but a national imperative. As a department we will continue to implement policies that support the growth and development of youth and to address the structural imbalances we continue to face. I am encouraged that you are taking an active part in changing your future, and the future of this sector, for generations to come. As you prepare to go and cast your vote in the upcoming local government elections, you are further entrenching our democracy, and actively participating in moving South Africa forward.
Let us continue to work together to ensure that our collective efforts realise the objective of youth empowerment through equal access to economic opportunities. Indeed, this can be one of the best tributes that we can pay to the courageous generation of 1976.
Thank you.
