/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

Mining plays a pivotal role in South Africa’s socio-economic development objectives and remains one of the Government’s strategic tools for the economic emancipation of its people. As the vanguard of society, government is tasked with balancing the competing interests of capital and labor, amongst others, while improving the lives of all South African people.

As the Department of Mineral Resources we execute our mission, which is to promote and regulate the mining, minerals and upstream petroleum sectors for transformation, growth and development; and to ensure that all South Africans derive sustainable benefit from the country’s mineral wealth. The vision of the DMR is to enable a globally competitive, sustainable and meaningfully transformed minerals and mining sector to ensure that all South Africans derive sustainable benefit from the country’s mineral wealth. As a result, the Minister has directed the DMR officials to aggressively pursue all available measures to drive growth towards to an even more enabling environment, in the interests of strengthening the economy.

In October 2015 at the Doornkop mine, during his first visit to a mine as the Minister of Mineral Resources, Minister Zwane indicated that a primary aim of the DMR was to ensure the health and safety of all workers. He indicated that Government would stop at nothing to achieve the ‘one life lost is one too many’ mantra.

The Minister and his officials are not oblivious to the stark realities and the various challenges being faced by the mining industry as compounded by the global economic realities. However, health and safety in the mining sector under the democratic government is nonnegotiable. Whilst a mine owner would attempt to clarify the statistics by comparison with previous years, possibly to show a decline and/or improvement in such statistics, the harsh reality is this – these are human lives and statistics, fathers, brothers sons wives, daughters, sisters buried. Every one lost is lost to a family that grieves them. They are often bread-winners providing for large family units.

Whilst creating regulatory framework that aide in driving growth in the mining sector remains a key objective of the department, it cannot and will not be at the expense of the people of this country. Society can ill-afford to compromise human lives in the interest of commercial gains.

It is the role of Government to govern and to legislate in a decisive manner. It is the role of business to run its business, to adhere to the rules and regulations and to allow the policies to be implemented. Respect of the autonomy we hold in our respective spaces is of paramount importance. We as government elected by popular will shall not renege on our responsibilities to govern and shall not infringe on business’s functional space.

In recent months, certain mining companies have leveled very serious allegations against the Minister and his officials, intimating that the officials may be using the instruments available to it to further its own purposes. A particular instrument of contention is section 54 of the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA). These allegations have the potential to tarnish the integrity of Government and undermine the legislative instruments. There are provisions for recourse built into the MHSA, where a party who’s been issued with section 54 notices and believes them issued without grounds to challenge the said issuing. To date, the Minister of Mineral Resources has not received any formal appeals, as prescribed for in legislation. It is appalling behavior by some responsible corporate citizenry of South Africa’s mining industry to be seemingly filing such appeals in the courts of public opinion.

The Minister reaffirms the importance of safety audits to determine the levels of compliance, on the basis of which corresponding corrective actions shall be instituted without deviation to the prescript.

The Minister acknowledges the concerted efforts of many other responsible citizens, from both organized labor and business in SA’s mining industry who continue to implement the Mine Health and Safety Summit Commitments to work towards zero harm in mining. To this end, the Minister takes specific note of the work being done by the Chamber of Mines in establishing a structure called “The Zero Harm Committee” to implement the aforesaid Summit Commitments.

Issued by the Department of Mineral Resources