Minister’s panic move will make mining job losses worse

05 August 2015

Mining Minister, Ngoako Ramatlhodi, is panicking over job losses in the mining industry, and is going to make things worse for our mine workers.

That is the only conclusion that can be drawn from his department’s withdrawal of the mining licence of the Optimum Colliery. Minister Ramatlhodi’s threat that other mining companies will meet the same fate if they cut jobs is obviously a reaction to the mounting wave of job cuts announced in the last few weeks that follow a trend of job losses over the past two years (see BDLive report).

The job losses are caused by plummeting world prices for South African minerals combined with a thicket of unclear, poorly conceived, and corruptly implemented mining regulations.

But the ANC must realise that if it tries to strongarm business, there will soon be no business left to strongarm.

The government is talking about a “Mining Phakisa” in October. This seems to be a plan for an extended and frank discussion with industry stakeholders behind closed doors. Genuine two-way negotiations are long overdue and the Minister should pursue these as fast as possible.

This will be a far more fruitful route for the Minister to follow, but will only be so if he actually listens to the industry when they tell him of the realities of the mining business.

He will then need to change the ANC government’s approach to mining to work with, rather than against, the industry.

Furthemore, the question needs to be asked: If Minister Ramatlhodi shuts down this coal mine, where does he think Eskom will get the coal it needs to run Hendrina power station?

If the Minister continues to try and strongarm the industry into maintaining uneconomic mines, then the stream of job losses risks becoming a flood.

Statement issued by James Lorimer MP, DA Shadow Minister of Mineral Resources, August 5 2015