Petroleum Royalty Bill and Windfalls in the Liquid Fuels Industry
27 February 2007
The National Treasury would like to clarify the confusion on the
relationship between the Minerals and Petroleum Royalty Bill and the report by
a Task Team on Windfalls in the Liquid Fuels Industry.
Both the Bill and the Task Team report have been released for further
comment by the public and the industry. Government will only finalise its
response after completing such a consultative process. The report of the Task
Team does make some recommendations on the Minerals and Petroleum Royalty Bill,
though it was not part of their terms of reference.
We have as yet not responded to any of the recommendations. The South
African Government has a recognised track record in financial management. We
are not about to jettison this reputation, so carefully constructed, and
replace it with capricious policy announcements.
The remit of the task team was focused on the synthetic fuels industry. On
this matter we have been scrupulous in our dealings with the producers of
synthetic fuels. Our extractors and producers are entitled to at least similar
treatment. There are no announcements on the recommendations of the task team
on the horizon.
For further enquiries, contact:
Lindani Mbunyuza
Deputy Director: Communications and Media
Tel: (012) 315 5645
Fax: (012) 315 5126
Cell: 083 327 9987
E-mail: lindani.mbunyuza@treasury.gov.za
Issued by: National Treasury
27 February 2007
