The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has noted with concern the allegations leveled against Minister Susan Shabangu relating to the consultation process of the review of the Mining Charter.
The Department of Mineral Resources [former Department of Minerals and Energy (DME)] established the Mining Industry's Growth, Development and Employment Task Team (MIGDETT) in December 2008 with a two pronged mandate:
- to find mechanisms to mitigate against the vagaries of the global financial and economic crisis, which imploded during the fourth quarter of 2008 and
- to propose interventions that will position the South African mining industry along a growth trajectory when the global economic upswing returns.
MIGDETT is a multi-stakeholder task team, chaired by the Department of Mineral Resources, with other government representation including The Presidency and Economic Cluster departments which include, National Treasury, Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Public Enterprises, organised business (Chamber of Mines and SAMDA), as well as organised labour [National Union of Mine workers (NUM), Solidarity and the United Associations of South Africa (UASA)].
The first mandate of MIGDETT was successfully concluded by September 2009, with job losses contained to less than 40 000, against original projections in excess of 100 000 job losses in the first year of the crisis.
During the course of its second mandate, which started during the latter part of 2009, MIGDETT identified two major attributes that will position the Republic of South Africa mining industry along a sustainable growth path, i.e. competitiveness and transformation.
To this extent, MIGDETT established two working groups, chaired by the Chamber of Mines and SAMDA respectively. This process recognised that we have previously dealt with competitiveness and transformation of the mining industry as mutually exclusive and MIGDETT was specifically tasked to emphasise the symbiotic relationship and mutually reinforcing nature of these attributes.
The second phase of the MIGDETT process culminated in the signing of the declaration on "the strategy for sustainable growth and meaningful transformation of South Africa’s mining industry" on 30 June 2010.
All stakeholders represented in MIGDETT (Chamber of Mines, SAMDA, NUM, UASA and Solidarity) signed the declaration document. The relevant transformation aspects of the declaration document were effectively migrated to constitute the bulk of the amendments of the Mining Charter.
In essence, the revised Mining Charter is located within the broader context of the strategy for sustainable growth and meaningful transformation of South Africa's mining industry.
The revised Mining Charter was presented to all stakeholders on 9 September and all representative constituents were allowed to contribute additional inputs to the document by Sunday 12 September, preceding the release of the amended Mining Charter. All inputs were considered in the finalisation of the amended Mining Charter, as published on the 13 September 2010.
It is against this backdrop that the department puts on record the extensive consultative engagement process with all mining stakeholders, under the auspices of MIGDETT and therefore no stakeholder can claim to be oblivious to the contents and intent of the amended Mining Charter.
For enquiries contact:
Zingaphi Jakuja
Cell: 082 766 3940
