The Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources, which was to have listened to Minister Mosebenzi Zwane’s response to allegations of state capture, has received and accepted his apology.

Following its first engagement with Minister Zwane on 18 October 2017, the Committee agreed to allow him to indicate when he would be available to answer further questions. Accordingly, Minister Zwane committed to appear before the Committee on 28 November 2017.

“Having accepted his apology, the Committee will give the Minister a new date of 24 January 2018 to come and answer further questions. We remain committed to get to the bottom of the state capture allegations involving the Minister,” said Mr Sahlulele Luzipo, Chairperson of the Committee.

Meanwhile, the Committee has welcomed a presentation by the Deputy Minister of the Department of Mineral Resources, Mr Godfrey Oliphant, on the role played by government in the class action case brought by 30 000 former mine workers against 87 gold mines.

“Although we appreciate the complexity of the case, we encourage all the stakeholders to work together in bringing about finality in the matter. We expect a progress report in March next year from the Deputy Minister in relation to the national compensation trust and how all the parties have resolved to work together,” said Mr Luzipo.
 

Issued by Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson, Sahlulele Luzipo