Address by Mr Mosebenzi J. Zwane, MP, Honourable Minister of Mineral Resources, on the debate on the MPRD Amendment Bill in the National Assembly
Honourable Speaker
Ministers and Deputy Ministers
Honourable Chairperson and members of the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources
Honourable Members
Fellow South Africans
When I assumed duty as Minister of Mineral Resources in September last year, I made a commitment that as a department we would do everything in our power to mobilise for the swift processing of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill.
This followed numerous engagements which I had with our key stakeholders in mining and upstream petroleum, who expressed a need for a stable and predictable regulatory framework. Indeed, it is our duty to create legislation that would stand the worst of times and the best of times.
We debate this Bill on the back of recent commemoration of the birth of Oliver Reginald Tambo, one of the greatest stalwarts of our movement. We are spurred on by his words when he said: “the fight for freedom must go on until it is won…” We believe that this freedom includes the economic liberation of our people, through meaningful economic transformation.
The President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Mr JG Zuma had referred the Bill back to Parliament in order to establish that the issues he had raised would pass the Constitutional muster.
The concerns raised by the President are indeed genuine and required further affirmation from the legislators. This is a demonstration of the President’s commitment to driving a Constitutionally-inspired transformation and development of the economy.
The Bill we brought to Parliament for amendment sought to, amongst others, achieve the following:
- Improve the ease of doing business;
- Address the shortfall identified in several court rulings, such as:
- the Bengwenyema Case on consultation of communities,
- The Mawetse case on effective date of a right,
- The McSand judgement on Land use and mining.
- Improve regulation of Social and Labour Plans to optmise the impact of the mining industry to development, and consolidate these into District Municipalities’ Integrated Development Plans (IDPs);
- Introduce a credible and orderly means of State participation in the development of the nation’s petroleum resources;
- Provide for an integrated licensing regime for the granting of rights, issuing of water use licenses and approval of environmental authorisations;
- Provide for regulation of associated minerals;
- Provide for designation of minerals as strategic for the purposes of supporting local beneficiation and industrialization; and
- Align the provision for sanction to non-compliance with the Competition Commission, and introduce a deterrent to non-compliance.
These and other amendments came from the benefit of having implemented the MPRDA for fourteen years, during which we obtained important lessons. I would like to assure Honourable Members that the Government is approaching this subject with the utmost responsibility and sensitivity, guided by an imperative to balance development with social and environmental considerations.
In this regard, we appreciate and commend the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources for dealing decisively with the processing of the Bill, whilst addressing legitimate concerns raised by the President.
The resolutions herein tabled for debate ought not to be seen as being contrary to the basis of the referral of the Bill, but more of the re-affirmation to the President that legislators have satisfied themselves that indeed the Bill will now pass the Constitutional muster.
We are acutely conscious of the fact that people elect public representatives to make laws to foster development, ensure that jobs are created, and see that services such as education, health and welfare are rendered to the country in an environmentally sustainable manner.
The reconciliation of these challenges constitutes one of the critical mandates of public office. It is expected of us, as the nation’s legislators, to rise to the challenges.
Honourable Members, you are all aware that the MPRDA has vested the country’s mineral resources in the hands of the State. The gains we have made in a short space of time can be accelerated and amplified with the processing of this Bill.
I call on all members of this House to support the position that we have taken on this matter of national interest. We have to use our collective might to deal with this subject in a manner that ensures that we take steps to re-industrialise our country, diversify our energy mix, contribute to food security and strengthen the national fiscus.
History places us in a position to rewrite its course and prove our critics wrong. We have made a good start in South Africa. We can use this Bill to unite our country and forge a common vision of a truly successful nation.
May God Bless all South Africans as we embark on this journey.
I thank you.
