EFF Deputy President Floyd Shivambu's Mineral Resources Budget Vote Notes

19 April 2016

These are the Speaking Notes by EFF Deputy President and Chief Whip Floyd Shivambu during the Parliament Budget Vote for the Department of Minerals and Energy, headed by Minister Msebenzi Zwane.

- We want to start by welcome the minister of mineral resources from his trip to Switzerland where he had gone to negotiate a deal for a criminal organization called Tegeta Reaources, owned by the Gupta family, where they were negotiating with another criminal enterprise called optimum coal, owned by Glencore, a known tax avoider in the world.

- We also want to welcome both the minister of mineral resources and ex minister of finance des Van Rooyen from their recent trips to Dubai and remind them that we are still waiting for the response on what were they doing in Dubai where the Gupta family is.

1. Now When the MPRDA was enacted into Law in 2002, Section 100. (2) (a) of the ACT categorically stated that “To ensure the attainment of Government’s objectives of redressing historical, social and economic inequalities as stated in the Constitution, the Minister must within six months from the date on which this Act takes effect develop a broad-based socio-economic empowerment Charter that will set the framework, targets and time-table for effecting the entry of historically disadvantaged South Africans into the mining industry, and allow such South Africans to benefit from the exploitation of mining and mineral resources.

2. In 2004, a Mining Charter was adopted with a set of key achievable and targets which were supposed to be achieved by 2014.

3. 2014 has come and gone and none of those targets were achieved. You have placed on the government gazette a new mining charter which just shifts the goal posts.

a. BY 2014, the all mines were supposed to have Achieved a minimum target of 26 percent ownership to enable meaningful economic participation of HDSA by 2014:

b. By 2014, all mines in South Africa were supposed to Procure a minimum of 40% of capital goods from BEE entities by 2014;

c. By 2014, all Mines were supposed to Procure 70% of services and 50% of consumer goods from BEE entities.

d. By 2014, the Ministry and department of Mineral Resources was supposed to have plan on beneficiation and industrialisation of mineral resources.

4. All these have not happened, and many other targets of the Mining Charter have not been achieved, and when the due date of the Mining Charter arrived, the ANC Government did not have the revised Charter.

5. We do not agree with the principles that underpin the Mining Charter because we believe that instead of giving shares to individuals, these shares must be given to workers and communities and the State must additionally own and control other strategic mines for developmental purposes.

6. The ANC Government also does not have the amended MPRDA because collectively and individually they have failed to make sure that the amended MPRDA is passed into Law by this Parliament.

7. In 2015, the ANC Caucus wasted a lot of time in useless and unconstitutional ad-hoc committees defending one individual, and failed to pass legislation.

8. Without proper and adequate legislation and decisive Charter, we cannot allocate any amount of money to the ministry that does not have a transformation compass.

9. If we do so, we will allow a family that has captured the State to decide the agenda, form and content of minerals regulation in South Africa.

10. We also do not trust that the recently appointed minister of mineral resources possess the necessary political capacity to be custodian of our country’s mineral resources.

11. This Minister’s first official trip after being appointed Minister was to Switzerland to meet with a criminal organisation called Glencore, alongside the Gupta family to negotiate family deals.

12. This Minister’s 2nd visit to a country was to Dubai, where the Guptas have escaped to after looting State resources.

13. This Minister of Mineral resources is the one who signed the letter inviting Guptas to land in a national key point.

14. This Minister in his previous responsibility as MEC appointed Guptas for a dairy project in the Free State.

15. In fact, Minister Zwane is a puppet of the Gupta family and he is sent around by them to secure private business interests.

16. Entrusting our mineral resources in the hands of Mr. Mosebenzi Zwane is like employing rats and rodents to be security guards of a cheese factory.

17. It is on this basis that the EFF stands to resoundingly and categorially reject the budget vote of the department of mineral resources.

18. Because even when you give the Mineral Resources Ministry money, they still leave the mining sector to be a lawless and unguided, as mining companies continue to loot our natural resources.

Issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, 20 April 2016