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Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane has placed the South African economy, previously disadvantaged South Africans, as well as any potential investor interest on the butcher’s block with the unilateral enforcement of the new Mining Charter.

UASA is deeply concerned about the flawed content of the Mining Charter, which appears to be very investor unfriendly.

While we support the philosophy and reasons for the establishment of the charter given South Africa’s history, the unilateral enforcement is cause for deep concern. Stakeholders were vigorously engaged before publication of the previous mining charter and as a result were committed to its implementation.

However, this has not been the case with the new charter and it is UASA’s opinion that the charter in its present format has the potential to cause irreparable harm to the South African mining industry and more importantly, to the South African economy.

UASA is not alone in its opposition to the charter. The Chamber of Mines launched an application in the High Court to stop the implementation and their reasons for doing so have been widely published.

UASA supports transformation, but we believe the time period to achieve certain targets in the new charter is unrealistic and indeed irresponsible, especially with reference to the 12 months being laid down to reach a 30% target.

More cause for concern is the fact that the original philosophy behind the charter, namely to “empower previously disadvantaged South Africans”, has been tampered with to allow naturalised citizens (Guptas?) to benefit and it is of great concern that the victims of this tampering might just be these very same previously disadvantaged South African citizens.

UASA did not attend last week’s meeting of the Mining Industry Development Growth and Employment Task Team (Midgett) called by Zwane.
That fact that the meeting took place only one hour before a media briefing made it highly conspicuous to us. Midgett, the tri-partite stakeholder forum for the industry, has been dormant for 18 months, and last week, out of the blue, Zwane called a last-minute meeting followed by a media briefing at a mere 24 hour notice.

In our view, the meeting was clearly an attempt to lure stakeholders into a situation where they would be expected to rubberstamp the new charter.

We suspected from the start that Zwane was going release the new charter at the media briefing, and UASA was not going to partake in that.
Now is not the time to introduce a Mining Charter that is, in our opinion, the result of a flawed DMR process and that will frighten off current and future investors in one of the most critical sectors in our economy.

The last thing South Africa can afford now is to further alienate investors.

It is our contention that Zwane was opportunistic to lure us and other stakeholders into a Midgett meeting in an attempt to rubberstamp his flawed charter. This captured minister seems to be playing to the whims of his puppet masters and UASA will definitely not fall for his ploys.

UASA trusts that the High Court will show the Minister the error of his ways.

Issued by UASA