Speaker, instead of calling on stakeholders in the mining sector to hold crisis talks, as was suggested by President Jacob Zuma in Japan, the President should persuade his party itself and its alliance partners to engage in crisis talks.
At the root of the killings at Lonmin and the unrest in the mining sector as a whole is the seriously flawed labour legislation that was crafted to entrench the ANC sweetheart union's leadership in the workplace - as the majority union. Unions not affiliated to Cosatu have for years been marginalised.
Over many years, workers steadily became alive to the fact that their interests were not always being served by Cosatu leaders. In fact, they realised that they have been used as bargaining chattel to enhance the political profile of some Cosatu leaders and, ultimately, as voting fodder for the ANC during elections.
The instability in the mining sector and the militancy in the industrial relations arena should be a concern for all South Africans who want this country to prosper and offer sustainable, decent jobs to a growing number of people. Mines are still the country's largest private-sector employer and government should tread carefully to avoid job losses in this sector. The spill-over effect of the violent protest action from the mining industry into other sectors of the economy could bring South Africa to the brink of anarchy.
The problem is that the President knows that he cannot call such a crisis meeting with his alliance partners - he is paralysed by Polokwane and Mangaung pay-back obligations. He does not have the credibility as a leader to warn union leaders to stop the rivalry that has caused the death of close to 50 people.
Consequently, he hides behind his Minister of Mineral Resources to criticise the anarchy, violence, intimidation and illegal strikes in the mining industry rather than to demonstrate the type of political leadership that this country needs now. [Time expired.]