STATEMENT ON THE 2017 MINING CHARTER
The FW de Klerk Foundation has taken note of the publication of the 2017 Mining Charter with a great deal of concern. On Friday, the shares of mining companies fell by an average of more than 5%. Some assess that as much as R50 billion was wiped off their market value.
The Government has a constitutional and legal responsibility to empower black South Africans and the Foundation supports this worthy goal. However, given who the Minister is, the long shadows cast over him via the #GuptaLeaks and his association with them, we wonder who the real intended beneficiaries are.
Frankly, we are concerned that a Minister who is criminally liable and possibly dishonest, has the audacity to make such profound changes to one of the key economic pillars of the country, when the country is economically in dire straits. We cannot but suspect that he is serving the interest of the captors of SA Inc in the name of transformation. Apparently the ANC, who have requested an urgent meeting with Minister Zwane, have the same concern.
The fact that the Minister’s largest stakeholder, the mining sector, has given notice that they will take the Charter on legal review is a bad sign. At best, it indicates that the Minister could not reach consensus with his largest stakeholder (whose profits must drive the process) and at worst, that something has gone seriously wrong in the relationship between the Minister and the Chamber of Mines. The fact that a number of black South Africans involved in the industry have voiced grave concerns about the Charter, aggravates this concern.
The Charter represents a package of radical measures, for example that middle management - where the real production work in mines is done - should be 80% black; as well as companies involved in the procurement of goods (70% black) and services (80% black).