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Date : 06/02/2006
Source: Ministry of Minerals and Energy
Title: Hendriks: Opening remarks at the African Mining Partnership Ministers' meeting


Honourable Ministers,
Programme Director
Distinguished guests from governments and from business
Ladies and gentlemen

Welcome to this third meeting of the AMP. At today’s meeting we are able to discuss very important matters that impact on Africa. President Mbeki in his address on Friday spoke about our country entering an Age of Hope. This age of hope equally applies to the African continent and the possibilities that have been created by greater levels of peace on the continent and by the economic opportunities arising from collaboration through the African Union (AU) and New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

The mining industry and the resources sector as a whole, remains a key economic sector in all African economies. Based on the economic history of many developed countries and indeed the more recent experiences of South Africa, this sector if managed correctly can and should become the cornerstone of industrialisation and further development of the countries of our continent.

Even Africa’s own economic history, dating back centuries shows the importance of mining to regional and global trade of the day. Sadly, much of this history has been ignored as it would teach our children about the great empires and trading nations that existed prior to the colonisation of Africa. Some of the earliest metallurgy in the world can be found in Africa, with techniques in smelting that even today could be considered world class. I hope that archaeologists and historians are successful in being able to capture our rich past in this sector and provide future generations a strong sense of our great history.

Ladies and gentlemen, today resources are the number one foreign exchange earner in most African countries as well as being a very large contributor to our infrastructure. The resources boom has shown us that this sector has an even greater contribution to make to our economies going forward. If one for example takes a product such as copper that was uneconomical to mine a few short years ago and where we saw disinvestment in several mines; if we now look at the commodity - which like most other minerals has started to shine and make those mines extremely lucrative. Clearly we must take advantage of the boom and see how mining and other primary resources can contribute to improving not only the rest of our economy but also our infrastructure and social development.

There are of course no guarantees on the continuation of the resources boom and it is therefore important that we, as key mining nations, are strategic in how we manage this sector and use it strategically - particularly in growing other parts of the economy. Equally important we need to be continually aware of the dangers of ‘Dutch Disease’ where we strengthen our currencies by exporting these now valuable minerals and underdevelop the rest of our economy, particularly manufacturing and services (which cannot compete with international competition on the basis of a currency that is too strong). It is in our ability to diversify our economies and make them robust enough to withstand the changing fortunes of one sector that will see us being able to achieve greater levels of development and create a better life for our people.

We must however be cautious in that while resources can contribute towards economic growth we must ensure this is done in a responsible and sustainable way, particularly with regard to safety in our mines and protecting the environment.

Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, we have long recognised that co-operation between our countries is key to us being able to achieve our growth and development objectives. There is a great deal that we can learn from each other and our collective voice and collective economies have the potential to become a very powerful force. With the African Union (AU) and New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) as our overarching framework we are seeing greater levels of regional co-operation and integration which allows us to increase levels of intra-Africa trade and investment.

As a newcomer to the mining sector and former Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, I am excited to have found in place a strong foundation for co-operation amongst African countries in the mining industry and structures for promoting NEPAD.

I am informed the idea of the AMP was first mooted during the African Mining Ministers Forum meeting in 2003. At that meeting ministers approved projects that they thought were suitable for fulfilling this mandate. Concept papers were presented and from those project proposals were drawn up. These projects go to the heart of what we can achieve through co-operation in the mining industry – such as in small scale mining, in beneficiation, as well as in the upstream and downstream sectors that form part of the resources sector.

While I am disappointed to hear that after three years some of the projects have not achieved their targets, I am still very optimistic about AMP as I see enormous potential in our continued co-operation. I hope through the necessary evaluations that must be conducted, we are able to identify the weaknesses and find areas for improvements. I call on my colleagues to ‘crack the whip’ so that we achieve greater progress; from my side I will be looking at our own projects.

To conclude, this year South Africa commemorates the Bambata Rebellion that took place 100 years ago; 50 years ago in 1956 we had our historic women’s march on the South African Union Buildings in Pretoria and in 1976 – 30 years ago, South Africa’s again took to the streets to protest against apartheid and the racist laws that repressed us and took away our political, cultural and economic freedoms. For South Africa in particular, how we manage our resources sectors and indeed how we manage our whole country and economy, we must show that the lives lost in the struggle for freedom were not in vain.

Colleagues, besides the funds spent on holding these meetings we have a duty to make these projects work as they will no doubt have a favourable impact on our people and our economies. I look forward to our deliberations today and the presentation from our officials, as I hope they were able to make progress on the delayed projects during their recent discussions.

I thank you.

Issued by: Ministry of Minerals and Energy
6 February 2006

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