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The Minister of Mineral Resources, Susan Shabangu, told Parliament yesterday that fracking in the Karoo should “not be allowed to degenerate into a few politically connected people benefiting”.

The Minister then proposed to counteract this by ensuring that the government takes a “direct interest” in shale gas mining through the state-owned African Mining and Finance Company.

Rent-seeking by the politically connected will however not be avoided by dominating the industry through a state-owned company unlikely to fully realise the potential of the resource. Steps must be taken to ensure that public officials and political office bearers are prevented from doing business with the state. However, according to the ANC chairperson of the Minerals Portfolio Committee, Fred Gona, government has no intention of preventing business dealings between the state, its officials and political insiders.

The DA calls on national government to replicate legislation in the Western Cape that prevents public officials from doing business with provincial government. All attempts by the DA to push for similar legislation in other provinces and by the national government have been blocked by the ANC.

In August 2011, the Committee for Private Members' Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions rejected a DA legislative proposal that sought to prevent state employees from improperly profiting from government business on the grounds that similar legislation was pending from national government. More than a year later, we are yet to see this legislation materialise.

Another legislative proposal seeking to prevent political party office bearers from contracting to the state was also rejected by an ANC-dominated committee intent on safeguarding the right of the governing party to use large projects to extend political patronage.

I will be writing to Minister Shabangu to call for her support for legislation to ensure that large minerals and other projects do not serve the political elite.

The ANC must stop extorting rent from its electorate. We must start putting policies in place that are best for the country’s future instead of just serving the ANC in the short term.