Chairperson of the NCOP, firstly, the ANC supports this Budget Vote. Secondly, we as a committee and as the ANC are very happy and satisfied that the finances of the department are healthy.
After more than a century of mining activities in South Africa, the country remains one of the most geologicalLY and mineral-rich regions in the world. South Africa's mineral industry, largely supported by gold, diamonds, coal and platinum group metals, has made an important contribution to the national economy.
Mining continues to be South Africa's principal earner of foreign exchange. It has been said that it contributes about 7% of the GDP. Mining also contributes approximately R140 billion to South Africa's exports, and it directly accounts for 6,5% of total fixed investment.
However, one other issue is the lack of skilled historically disadvantaged South Africans, HDSAs, which should not be used as an excuse by the mining companies for the failure to meet the employment equity targets. That also includes the 2% employment of people with disabilities.
The department conceded that it has been busy with conversions of old-order mining licences, and that it could not do inspections at the same time, which we accepted. However, the department must ensure that it has an adequate human resource capacity to do the inspections in 2010-11.
The department performed well in weathering the storm of the global economic crisis. The Mining Industry Growth, Development and Employment Task Team, Migdett, minimised some job loses.
The commitments of the charter are not intended for compliance purposes only. They do not end in 2014, but are meant to transform the industry.
There are also the issues regarding mining, the environment and communities - three major issues. A balance must be found among these. There are issues that have been raised by communities, for instance in KwaMbonambi, KwaZulu- Natal, about Richards Bay Minerals; in Madlankala about Exxaro; and in Burgersfort in Limpopo, in the Sekhukhune district. Those issues need to be attended to.
Patrick Bond in Looting Africa: The Economics of Exploitation, says:
Given that mining houses have been central to looting Africa for at least a century and a half, it is fitting next to consider the damage done by depletion of minerals and other non-renewable natural resources.
The central question is whether any of the financial capital that returns to Africa - by way of royalties on minerals or profits to local shareholders ... - is reinvested, or merely becomes the source of further capital flight.
The glittering history of the sector is well recorded. I do not want to dwell on that. Today, I would like to hone in on one of the themes in the Minister's budget speech, and this is the issue of the proposed state-owned mining company which would consolidate the mining interests of the state in one vehicle.
Those who have fallen behind in following global trends will certainly oppose this in the most fervent manner. A former public policy analyst of the Chamber of Mines, by the name of Ricardo Hansby, recently pointed out in an article in The Times that: it is now broadly accepted that more meaningful state involvement in economies is inevitable and in fact desirable. Now that the state wants to restore the glitter of the mining industry, it is opposed by a number of industry and political leaders. In the spirit of collaboration, we need to call on the mining companies and their respective bodies to stop lamenting what the government is doing and not doing. We need them to be proactive and suggest solutions. In their own language, this is what they call value added. The proposed state-owned mining company is one initiative, and the doors of the government and the Ministry are wide open to suggest alternatives. When the industry was asked on numerous occasions to come up with solutions to the low beneficiation rate of mineral products that takes place in South Africa, all we heard were excuses cloaked in technical jargon. These are exactly the reasons why the state will explore its own options.
In short, we as the ANC believe that this budget will help in addressing the backlogs and the issues that are faced by miners, more especially the aftereffects - the health issues that take place when miners have long left the mines.
We, as the ANC, support this Budget Vote with a big smile. I thank you. [Applause.]