Mining Charter review accepts need to prop up infrastructure
The charter scope expands into social responsibilities and public infrastructure like rail, ports, electricity, water, research, and environmental impact management.
New Mining Charter principles agreed to in June, to become effective in September, bow to calls for public empowerment, and accept a duty to prop up public infrastructure.
If prerequisites for sustained mining in any developing country were summed up in one document, the 2010 Mining Charter review could be that document.
Government, industry and labour agreed on charter review principles in a stakeholder declaration, in the depths of a recession, with 48 000 to 50 000 jobs shed, and increasing public scrutiny of environmental impacts due to historically haphazard mining, and to poor state governance.
The charter is on track to patch up flaws in the local economic and social model, but between the lines, it is evident that business and labour also accept the task of guiding government to reform neglected state policy, capacity, and processes.
COAL RUSH REVEALS DISORDER
Some medium term results of mining under haphazard policy and regulation, have come home to roost in complex tussles involving coal mining in the Mpumalanga lakes area, and in the Limpopo River valley.
Coal of Africa and Vele is a notable case in point, Mining regulation, and public license to mine, are all but melting down under combined pressure from clients, investors, operators, empowerment agencies, land claimants, provincial authorities, and municipalities, all grasping at development opportunities to counter the recession.
New Order mining licences and the Vele plan seems like what SA mining needs to sustain itself in global investment competition, yet ironically the Vele saga is pitting state departments, politicians, authorities, mining and public against one another.
Poor governance is turning some of the great hopes of SA mining, into sagas that foreign investors shy away from.
New rules needed
Government review of the former Mining Charter in November, had found that a number of milestone metrics were not on track to meet 2013 targets.
Further impetus for the new deal is implicit in intensified broad-based black empowerment calls, deteriorating public infrastructure, and investment competition from African and Asian countries.
The tripartite focus had shifted to growth, development and employment, as also evident in the Migdett task team, preparing for better times.
Migdett consensus and strategies inevitably found their way into the Mining Charter review. The Charter scope significantly expands into social responsibilities and public infrastructure like rail, ports, electricity, water, research, and environmental impact management.
A recent mining summit in Kwa-Zulu Natal, attended by DMR Minister Susan Shabangu, agreed on several strategy elements;
* Skills development and retention, against brain drain
* Equal employment and accommodation of women, irrespective of race
* Knowledge sharing among industry operators to ensure global best practice
* Local research and development aimed at competing with the world
* Exploration investment to ensure sustainable mining
* Investment incentives locally and abroad
* Accommodation to change to single rooms for workers
* Accommodation changed from single quarters to family quarters by 2014
* Social development in mining areas
* Black empowerment by procurement policies
UASA acting CEO Leon Grobler commented in a union circular that the tripartite process should achieve the desired transformation without losing economic growth; "do the right thing but do not kill the money in the process."
Labour shares
Solidarity president Steve Scott commented that worker shareholding schemes, Espos, could achieve the empowerment target of 26% by 2014.
Anglo Gold Ashanti offers Bokomosa Trust. Goldfields is renegotiating an Esop with unions. Anglo Plaatsinum, Impala Platinum and Northam Platinum already operate Esops.
Mining Charter review accepts need to prop up infrastructure
The charter scope expands into social responsibilities and public infrastructure like rail, ports, electricity, water, research, and environmental impact management.
review could be that document.
Government, industry and labour agreed on charter review principles in a stakeholder declaration, in the depths of a recession, with 48 000 to 50 000 jobs shed, and increasing public scrutiny of environmental impacts due to historically haphazard mining, and to poor state governance.
The charter is on track to patch up flaws in the local economic and social model, but between the lines, it is evident that business and labour also accept the task of guiding government to reform neglected state policy, capacity, and processes.
COAL RUSH REVEALS DISORDER
Some medium term results of mining under haphazard policy and regulation, have come home to roost in complex tussles involving coal mining in the Mpumalanga lakes area, and in the Limpopo River valley.
Coal of Africa and Vele is a notable case in point, Mining regulation, and public license to mine, are all but melting down under combined pressure from clients, investors, operators, empowerment agencies, land claimants, provincial authorities, and municipalities, all grasping at development opportunities to counter the recession.
New Order mining licences and the Vele plan seems like what SA mining needs to sustain itself in global investment competition, yet ironically the Vele saga is pitting state departments, politicians, authorities, mining and public against one another.
Poor governance is turning some of the great hopes of SA mining, into sagas that foreign investors shy away from.
New rules needed
Government review of the former Mining Charter in November, had found that a number of milestone metrics were not on track to meet 2013 targets.
Further impetus for the new deal is implicit in intensified broad-based black empowerment calls, deteriorating public infrastructure, and investment competition from African and Asian countries.
The tripartite focus had shifted to growth, development and employment, as also evident in the Migdett task team, preparing for better times.
Migdett consensus and strategies inevitably found their way into the Mining Charter review. The Charter scope significantly expands into social responsibilities and public infrastructure like rail, ports, electricity, water, research, and environmental impact management.
A recent mining summit in Kwa-Zulu Natal, attended by DMR Minister Susan Shabangu, agreed on several strategy elements;
* Skills development and retention, against brain drain
* Equal employment and accommodation of women, irrespective of race
* Knowledge sharing among industry operators to ensure global best practice
* Local research and development aimed at competing with the world
* Exploration investment to ensure sustainable mining
* Investment incentives locally and abroad
* Accommodation to change to single rooms for workers
* Accommodation changed from single quarters to family quarters by 2014
* Social development in mining areas
* Black empowerment by procurement policies
UASA acting CEO Leon Grobler commented in a union circular that the tripartite process should achieve the desired transformation without losing economic growth; "do the right thing but do not kill the money in the process."
Labour shares
Solidarity president Steve Scott commented that worker shareholding schemes, Espos, could achieve the empowerment target of 26% by 2014.
Anglo Gold Ashanti offers Bokomosa Trust. Goldfields is renegotiating an Esop with unions. Anglo Plaatsinum, Impala Platinum and Northam Platinum already operate Esops.
New Mining Charter principles agreed to in June, to become effective in September, bow to calls for public empowerment, and accept a duty to prop up public infrastructure. If prerequisites for sustained mining in any developing country were summed up in one document, the 2010 Mining Charter
|BACK| COMMENT | OTHER SHEQ