The South African mining industry tripartite on Monday, 14 March 2011 concluded a highly successful first leg of an international road show targeting the investor communities in Toronto, Canada; New York and Boston in the United States.
The road show, which was led by the Minister of Mineral Resources Susan Shabangu with representatives from the Chamber of Mines led by Dr Xolani Mkhwanazi; the National Union of Mineworkers led by its president Senzeni Zokwana and the South African Mining Development Association headed by Aubrey Lekwane.
"Our intention was to inform the investor community that our country is open for business. The engagements were robust and at times heated but we believe that we represented the country well,” said Shabangu.
The view was echoed by Zokwana who impressed upon the audience in Boston who were against unionisation that “it is because of the working together of government, labour and business that South Africa has not seen an industry-wide strike action in a decade”.
Further, he informed the audience that “Unions can choose to be only about wages, but the situation in South Africa is different, unions have played a positive role in the mining industry, engaging with all players in the world to ensure that mining can be an instrument to lift people out of poverty and change the fortunes of the countries,” he said.
The CEO of the Chamber of Mines Bheki Sibiya reiterated importance of the tripartite working relationship saying even though the chamber worked closely with government, the engagement remains robust. “For example, we support the state-owned mining company on the basis of the assurance that it will be operating without preferential treatment. To this end the minister has made assurances going to the extent of repealing the exemptions that, we believed, would give the company unfair advantage,” he said.
The message that South Africa remains an attractive investment destination seems to have been well-received by investors who questioned the delegation at large on nationalisation, infrastructure development, the state-owned mining company, unionisation and the regulatory framework.
The roadshow comes after the mining industry through the MIGDETT process identified growth constraints and thereafter developed a strategy aimed at positioning the industry for sustainable growth and development, a strategy that will see the mining industry reclaiming its rightful position in the economy.
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