“So, we’ve got a wonderful combination of
all the key role players who are enriching
the mining charter. The ideas and the
thoughts that have come forward have
enabled us to move a greater step forward,”
he said. Giving assurance that everyone
would benefit from the mining charter, he
also highlighted that all stakeholders had
different roles and responsibilities. “We bring
in the regulatory aspect, companies bring
in the investment and operating the mines,
communities obviously bring in the workers,
but they also have a number of expectations
[and] responsibilities to make sure that the
facility is sustainable going forward,” he
said. He added that meaningful engagement
with labour could potentially result in all
stakeholders sharing in the value created.
Another concern was the industry’s ability
to innovate in the face of global challenges: the
president encouraged international investors
to partner with South Africa to add value.
“Adding value means that you bring your
money, but we also see you as people who
bring technology, who bring in a new level of
benchmarking and best practice that you will
bring from the various areas that you operate
in,” Ramaphosa explained.
He urged investors to be law-abiding
investors of integrity. “We want you to observe
the way we function as we are reforming and
transforming ourselves. In the past we’ve had
investors who came and sought to divert either
people in key positions [or] institutions. We
www.miningmirror.co.za
Fraser
Mining in focus
The investment attractiveness chart for the African continent.
are putting that behind us.” Reiterating that
investors were welcome, Ramaphosa stressed
that it was important that they also added to
the country’s offshore investments.
Various commissions of inquiries have been
underway in the country and have had an
impact on mining investments in the industry.
They include the inquiry into state capture,
the South African Revenue Services (SARS)
commission and the National Prosecuting
Authority (NPA) commission. Although
bothersome, Ramaphosa said that commissions
of enquiry were established to address a
specific problem and to identify the root
cause of the problem. “We’ve been through
a very difficult set of years. Following these
commissions as they yield all these horrible
truths about what happened in the past, there
will be a time when the commissions come up
with findings,” the president said.
Following the findings, the commissions
will come up with recommendations on
steps to take going forward. Ramaphosa used
the SARS commission as an example. The
findings made recommendations that then
commissioner Tom Moyane was unfit to hold
AUGUST 2019 MINING MIRROR [31]