AFRICAN BUZZ •
RAMAPHOSA ’ S SPEECH : A HIGHLIGHT AT THE MINING INDABA of which is the environmental permitting stage , which can take up to 18-24 months . At a time when the country is in dire need of electricity generation and as Eskom faces closing down the majority of its old coal-fired power stations , it is critical for the industry and the country that these – and – other – mostly renewable energy projects are expedited .
It ' s easy to harp on the negative , but at a time of national crisis any delays in saving the country from economic failure are incomprehensible .
By the Minerals Council South Africa
There is little doubt that President Cyril Ramaphosa ’ s speech at the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2022 was a highlight of the four-day gathering , touching on each of the key points that the domestic mining industry has flagged as a constraint on its growth or production base , and those areas where partnerships have benefitted the country .
Minerals Council South Africa CEO Roger Baxter noted that the speech was the best yet by a South African president in more than two decades of the international conference held annually in Cape Town . The speech was remarkable for being free of political rhetoric , ideological posturing and veiled attacks that have marked speeches in the past , certainly by South Africa ’ s mines ministers .
Without doubt , the speech was remarkable and spoke to local and international mining companies , explorers , investors , bankers and lawyers making up the 6,500 delegates at this year ’ s conference .
The key concern of all those who heard it was that while the “ boss ” said what everyone wanted to hear , his cabinet ministers , their directors general and government officials swathe their processes in layers of bureaucracy , regulations and inaction .
The private sector is more than willing to step in and assist as partners in key infrastructure like electricity generation , rail and ports to undo the worrying reverses the country has experienced in these areas . The mining industry has financing , engineering and project management skills to bring to these initiatives .
President Ramaphosa has mentioned the need for greater private sector participation in fixing years of decay , neglect and corruption stemming from State Capture . Ministers and their officials must align their departments with this strategy . Only by working together can a worsening of the economy be arrested , and deepening unemployment be halted and reversed .
The history of the past two years shows it can be done . The mining industry worked closely with the government and organised labour to safely bring hundreds of thousands of mineworkers back to their jobs , saving their livelihoods , and lead the country in terms of vaccinations . By doing so , the sector has for two successive years stabilised the economy and bailed out the fiscus .
‘ COMBATTING CORRUPTION FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA ’
For Ramaphosa ’ s comments to translate to action , that same investorfriendly , focused and strategic vision outlined by the president must be taken to heart by his cabinet and their officials acting in the best interests of the country rather than narrow vested interests .
And this is where the Minerals Council is placing effort . The industry regularly engages the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy about the backlog of more than 4,000 mining and prospecting rights , mining permits and mineral rights transfers . There is an estimated R30-billion of investment tied up in this bottleneck .
Another area of intense focus is the adoption of a cadastral system that is transparent , corruption-free and user-friendly . The incumbent SAMRAD system has been a bitter disappointment and has arguably been one of the major impediments for investment and growth of the sector .
While the key deposits in gold , platinum group metals , chrome , coal , manganese and iron ore are known , there are provinces like the Northern Cape , rich in base metals , that promise a rich treasure trove of base and industrial minerals that feed into the renewable energy technologies .
The mining industry has more than 4GW of energy projects worth R65-billion stalled in regulatory processes , the most time-consuming
Heads of anti-corruption agencies from the Commonwealth ’ s 19 African member states and stakeholders met on 3 May 2022 in Kigali , Rwanda , for the 12th Regional Conference of Heads of Anti- Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa .
The five-day conference , which was convened under the theme ‘ Combatting Corruption for Good Governance and Sustainable Development in Africa ,’ opened with a clarion call from delegates for the need to strengthen cooperation and collaboration among anti-corruption agencies in Commonwealth Africa to help address the gaps in fighting corruption .
Opening the forum , Rwanda ’ s Ombudsman , Madeleine Nirere , outlined some of the measures the Government of Rwanda has undertaken towards zero-tolerance against corruption , adding that these measures have been made possible not only because of the political will of the government there but also through the
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