Chairperson, hon Ministers present here, the officials of the Department of Minerals and Energy, led by the director-general, fellow South Africans, let me, from the outset, re-affirm the ANC's support for this Budget Vote. We are basing this support on our all-embracing theme of "working together, we can do more". I dedicate this speech to the thousands of mineworkers who perished in this industry over many years of mining in this country. This Parliament extends condolences to their families and loved ones. I agree with the Minister that, on 26 June 1955, the people of this country, under the able leadership of the ANC, converged in the truly and only congress of the people, hon Dexter, in Kliptown ... [Laughter.] ... where they declared, among other things, that "the people shall share in the country's wealth". In discussing this Budget Vote, we will revisit the evolution of mining in this country, very important historically; we will assess whether this desire by our people has been addressed and suggest a clear way forward.
I will come back to the historical background and suffice to say we reaffirm the fact that this country is endowed with rich minerals. South Africa's mineral wealth is found in diverse geological formations, some of which are unique and extensive by world standards. Some of the country's minerals include gold, diamonds, kimberlite, alluvial and marine deposits, titanium, manganese, platinum group metals, chrome and vanadium.
We also have in abundance bituminous coal as well as copper, phosphate, iron vermiculite and zirconium. This mineral wealth is supposed to be the whole nation's inheritance because it is God's given gift to the people of South Africa as a whole. The question therefore begs, do we all benefit equitable to this wealth? Why do the majority of the people of this country remain entrapped in abject poverty, including those communities where this wealth is extracted from the land they live on? These mining communities have no proper roads, no decent housing, no running water and sanitation, no decent education facilities, including bursaries for their children, and most of them do not have any form of ownership in these mines.
Lihlazo eli; le meko ayinyamezeleki kwaphela. Siyi-ANC, umbutho wabantu, kunye norhulumente esiwulawulayo, siza kwenza konke okusemandleni ethu ukuguqula esi simo. Siza kuqinisekisa ukuba bonke abantu bakowethu bayaxhamla kubutyebi nobuncwane bezimbiwa zomhlaba wakwaNtu. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[This is a disgrace; this situation cannot be tolerated at all. We, as the ANC, the people's party, and the government that we lead, will do everything in our power to change this situation. We will ensure that all our fellow people benefit from the wealth and prosperity of the minerals of our indigenous land. [Applause.]]
Chairperson, it is imperative to acknowledge the fact that the democratic government led by the ANC inherited complex land ownership patterns and a mineral rights regime that is biased towards the white minority. To radically transform this situation, the first step we took was to develop a mineral policy that would provide a blueprint to change this system, and effectively transfer all mineral rights to the custodianship of the state. This is in tandem with the details of the Freedom Charter, as the Minister has pointed out, in its clarion call that "the mineral wealth beneath the soil shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole" hence the promulgation of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, MPRDA, and later the Diamonds Amendment Act and the Precious Metals Act.
We appreciate the pivotal role played by the Department of Minerals and Energy in implementing these pieces of legislation swiftly and in enforcing compliance with them, particularly, the progress report on the conversion of the licences from the old order rights to the new order rights, the promotion of the new entrants in the form of broad-based black economic empowerment, BBBEE, and the support given to the small-scale miners. We also took note of the challenges raised by the department in their tireless work of regulating this industry.
This portfolio committee took serious note of the departments and stakeholder's intention to embark on the due reviewal of the Mining Charter. This Fourth Parliament will follow these proceedings with keen interest given our concern on the reported slow progress made.