Chairperson, the response to the question is that the Department of Mineral Resources established the Mining Industry Growth, Development and Employment Task Team, Migdett, in December 2008 in response to the implosion of the global economic and financial crisis. The Migdett mandate was two-pronged, namely to collectively develop a mechanism to mitigate the impact of impending job losses as a result of the crisis, and to develop a strategy to prepare a trajectory for long-term labour absorptive growth for the industry once the crisis receded.
The work of Migdett remains active to date, as the crisis has been protracted. The Platinum Task Team was specifically established to respond to the challenges faced by the sector in June last year, and it culminated in a report of Migdett being adopted by the respective principals. This report demonstrates the continued effort of the department to mitigate job losses and to work with business to find the means to restore the long-term viability of the sector. Thank you.