SA NEWS
Aspasa’s 2019/2020 strategy
By Eamonn Ryan
“The year has run into its half-
way point: the elections are
done and now the work has to
start. Aspasa is seeing a slight
return of business confidence.
Government departments just
need to get their acts together
and put out work. What is
interesting is that whenever one
talks to anybody, the condition
of roads is raised. It seems the
entire population of South
Africa is aware of the problem
‒ except those responsible
for their upkeep and repairs.
Some provincial roads are in
a shocking state, never mind
the towns. For instance, when
one travels in Mpumalanga it
is appalling to see the state of
small-town roads. Now, with a
new regime in government it is
hoped that those who are not
doing their work will soon have
no work,” says Pienaar.
Surface mining
Surface miners are facing a
growing number of challenges
and have been getting behind
the association so as to have a
unified voice for the industry.
“Aspasa has seen that the
medium and small mining
sector needs attention and to be
focused on. Their profits have
been coming under increasing
pressure as a result of ever-
more onerous compliance
issues, among other challenges,
so it is seen as beneficial to
become a member of Aspasa,
which looks after members’
best interests,” says Pienaar.
“The next problem we have
is that of illegal mining. This
subject is glibly spoken about,
but not always understood.
The first thing is that there
are clear laws governing the
4_QUARRY SA| JULY/AUGUST 2019
mining industry. These laws
are to be regulated by the DMR
and also Water Affairs and
Environmental Affairs. These
departments seem not to know
what the illegal mining concept
is, as the illegal mining of sand,
gravel and other commodities
is widespread and growing on
a regular basis. The problem
is not only that these illegal
operations are competing
with legal operations, but they
also don’t abide by, among
others: minimum wages,
safety and health issues, tax
compliance, and looking after
the environment.
“Those operations that are
legal, get visited on a regular
basis by government officials,
and Aspasa has asked its
members to keep records of
all these visits. At some stage
these statistics will be used to
demonstrate the victimisation
that is practised by some
officials. Not only is illegal
mining condoned by the
authorities, but it is clearly
represents unfair competition
in terms of the Constitution
and competition legislation.
Even our national roads
authorities spend the public’s
money to open borrow pits
to extract material, while
down the road there are legal
operations that are not even
consulted when work goes out
on tender.”
Their challenge is similar
to that of quarries, explains
Pienaar – the legislation they
are required to comply with is
aimed at large mining houses
and is not relevant to them.
“The legislation also needs to
create a level playing field – you
can’t have illegal operators
Aspasa has broadened its membership in recent years to embrace other surface miners
who lack a public voice, says Aspasa director Nico Pienaar. This is just one of the priorities
of Aspasa’s strategy in the coming years.
Nico Pienaar, director of Aspasa.
while the more visible and
compliant firms are effectively
victimised. We, Aspasa, have
been vocal in saying this, and
other organisations picked up
on it and suggested working
together,” says Pienaar.
Community
engagement
“It is therefore no wonder that
communities in certain regions
have stopped big projects as
they, the community, have
not been consulted. Aspasa is
working with local government
departments to ensure that
communities are treated fairly.
“The Mining Charter puts
pressure on legal operations
to benefit the communities,
while the illegal people go
unnoticed and make money in
an illegal way. Aspasa has its
motto that members must act
in a legal manner. This is also
one of the main focus areas of
the Minerals Council, which
Aspasa is a member of. Our
President has called on us as
business to act in a responsible
and non-corrupt way.
“So, as a country, we have
to be more supportive of
those who are responsible
businesspeople. No brown
envelopes will be allowed and if
known about must be reported
to the authorities,” says Pienaar.
Quality management
An Aspasa focus will continue
to be on helping members
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