B Sonjica: Commission ceremony of Council for Geoscience Marine Survey
Vessel Geo Manzi

13 February 2009

Master of Ceremonies,
Chairperson of the Board of the Council for Geoscience, Prof Ngoepe,
Chief Executive Officer,
Honoured Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to thank the organisers for inviting me here today to
commission the Council for Geoscience’s Marine Survey Vessel Geo Manzi. In the
same breath, by being here is indeed a show of support for the Council for
Geoscience for the work that they do, especially as South Africa (SA) has
poised itself to move from an export based to economy.

The Republic of South Africa ranks among the world leaders in both reserves
and production of numerous land based commodities such as manganese, gold,
platinum-group metals, coal, chromite, vanadium and vermiculite, to mention but
a few. In all of this, South Africa’s window into off-shore extraction has been
fairly limited to gas and diamonds, while investment directed at investigating
the possibility of producing mineral commodities from coastal and marine sites
has been inadequate.

Today marks a critical shift from this position. The acquisition of Geo
Manzi technology will advance research and development on our shores, aimed at
unearthing the virtually unexplored resources’ real estate in the country.

Research and development are clearly an integral part of development.
Archaeological discoveries dating back as far as the stone age provide evidence
of the success with which science and technology has been employed in
Africa.

Ladies and gentlemen, I stand here very proud to mention that South Africa
has invested considerably in developing a world class geoscience infrastructure
in terms of geoscientists, geological maps and research over the past years for
its land based territory. This has been a fundamental requirement in attracting
mineral exploration investment into the country. Accordingly, a similar and
equally intensive mapping programme of our offshore territory is also
required.

I am therefore very pleased to commission the Geo Manzi technology, which is
an important first step in mapping our offshore territory, although it is
restricted to the near-shore environment. The commissioning of the Geo Manzi
represents a very important development for South Africa’s coastal waters and
for the advancement of local geosciences.

I am informed that Geo Manzi is equipped with globally competitive state of
the art geophysical equipment that will allow for an increased understanding of
the sea bed, which in turn will lead to new knowledge in terms of geoscientific
processes and the geological evolution of the near shore environment. The near
shore region represents a strategic component of the country’s territory and
provides us with an excellent opportunity to exploit mineral resources.

In terms of food security, the near shore region plays a key role in
providing a large portion of our fish stocks. The characterisation of our reef
areas provides important information for the management of fish breeding and
their sustainable exploitation. In terms of infrastructural development, the
near shore environment is traversed by pipelines, electricity and
telecommunication cables, as well as anchorage points; all of which need
constant surveying.

Our ports are strategically critical regions through which the majority of
our imports and exports are transported. The harbour and port entrances need to
be surveyed and investigated so that we can know what the seabed conditions are
like. This is in order to ensure the safe and efficient passage of the many
container and cargo vessels entering and leaving our ports. Geo Manzi is also
well equipped to provide this information to the port authorities.

I am informed that the vessel itself is a catamaran hull design with a
length of 8,5 meters and a beam of 3,1 meters. It is certified to carry up to
eight persons and is capable of travelling up to 15 nautical miles from the
coast.

The Geo Manzi vessel has been designed to ensure that it has sufficient on
board power requirements to run the various pieces of equipment and computers
in a quiet and comfortable cabin environment in order to maximise the time for
data collection and reconnaissance processing.

I wish to emphasise that Geo Manzi is an important development that will
permit South Africa to understand the geological nature and evolution of its
offshore territories. As a scientific platform, it will further our
geoscientific knowledge, it will be used to train a new crop of marine
geoscientists and will contribute significantly in advancing our understanding
of mineral and other resources for the country and to assist in the
understanding of these issues for the broader region of southern Africa and the
continent.

Chairperson and guests, the Council of Geoscience has grown in stature on
the continent. I say this because in my travels and interaction with my
counterparts, there is always a request for the council to do very important
work that assists a number of countries in determining the size and extent of
their mineral wealth. This is in line with the mandate of the council. I always
encourage the council through the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), to go out and
find ways and means that the continent can benefit from all the expertise that
our country has been able to garner over the years.

The work of the CGS needs to be looked at in relation to the New Partnership
for Africa's Development (Nepad) ideals in order to ensure that the African
Union can have the kind of impact that is expected from it. The peoples of the
continent will never look for anything less and yes, they do deserve more from
us. We have a collective responsibility to create a legacy that will outlast us
all.

I hope that we will continue to look for the tools that will take us further
on this road; tools like the Geo Manzi.

Finally and in the nautical tradition of commissioning a vessel:
‘May fair winds and following seas accompany Geo Manzi on all her
journeys’.

I thank you

Issued by: Department of Minerals and Energy
13 February 2009