Hon Chair, the answer to the first part is that the department will always follow procedures laid down in sections 93 and 47 in the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, MPRDA, in making sure that companies are compliant.
The answer to the second part is that the department will always ensure that it follows all administrative processes in ensuring that at the end of the day companies are compliant and will be able to implement sections 47 and 93 as required by the Act.
Madam Chair, the top 10 companies have during the past three weeks indicated that they have broadly achieved the Mining Charter targets set for 2014. In fact, whilst the Department of Mineral Resources, DMR, has indicated that the mining houses have achieved only 8,9% in terms of ownership targets, the Chamber of Mines and all the mining companies have indicated that the industry norm on ownership targets has been 26,8% - in fact, already the target set for 2014. Cancelling mining licences without agreed figures between the mining sector and the DMR will have highly litigious consequences and be an investment time bomb.
In the light of the above, will the Minister consider appointing an accredited auditor's firm to factually, and not politically, establish the extent to which the targets for 2014 have been met. Thank you.
Hon Chair, I just want to indicate that we as the regulator do not have the figures he has. I must also indicate that I had a meeting with the Chamber last week and they alluded to the fact that the companies had not achieved this.
With the current problems and challenges we are facing, if the big companies, the 10 big companies which you are talking about, could achieve this, I don't think we would be having an issue with the transformation of the mining sector in this country. They are far from that. I further need to ask: if your Anglos and BHPs, those companies, have not achieved this, how can you say that most of them have achieved the 2014 targets? They have not - we are engaging on that.
Part of the process has been to improve the Mining Charter in a way that allows us to review this on an annual basis, and ask how we can best achieve those targets. What was presented to the portfolio committee by the Chamber and the CEO was incorrect. I just wanted to say that, and they have alluded to that. There are many factors attached to the Charter which are required, and they are not compliant at this stage. We are engaging with them with the intention of ensuring that when 2014 comes, we will be better off and they will have achieved this.
Thank you very much, Chairperson ...
... ngixolise kakhulu, bengisaye endlini encane. [... my apologies, I was in the restroom.]
In line with your response and commitments made by the DMR in the Strategic Plan, hon Minister, how far are you in establishing the Compliance Unit which, we noted in our Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report, BRRR, will indeed assist the department to monitor and ensure compliance with mining laws and policies by mining companies? Thank you.
I thank the hon member. I want to indicate that the issue of the Compliance Unit within the department forms part of our broader restructuring of the department. We are in the process of looking at the relevant personnel who will be able to fit into that unit, and also making sure that it is budgeted for, because it is not going to help us to have a unit which has not been budgeted for. We hope, come the next financial year, that it will be fully operational and properly funded.
See also QUESTIONS AND REPLIES.