Hon. Members, this EFF motion is a highly explosive topic because as per the Mining Charter, the 10 year milestone achieved brought government, mining companies and trade unions together.

Transformation has occurred with the revised Mining Charter but it is the Department of Minerals and Petroleum Resources, which has failed the extractive sector.

As per the 2002 Act (S24), the state is the custodian of minerals but strikes, corruption still leaves the mining communities in poverty.

The Mining Charter is clear that pdi’s must benefit from the social and labour plan, which is required for a mining permit.

A commission should look at lessons we can learn from eg. Limpopo, where millions of Rands are unaudited for about 20 years; sitting in a Trust account.

Therefore, such Trust accounts should be decentralised and mining communities should be enabled to access monies for their development.

The MF recommends that there be an independent authority established for verification of mining reports, which will assist in monitoring and evaluating BBBEE procurement and HR requirements.

However, it is true, that we must rethink mining creatively and not radically. We must privatise a few mines with minerals for export but Nationalise mines where extracts can be beneficiated.

Thank you.

Shameen Thakur-Rajbansi

MPL KZN Legislature