The government is open to working with the private sector so it can achieve great results, President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the annual Investing Mining Indaba in Cape Town on Tuesday.
“We’re not saying you should not be critical. But we are saying stop moaning. We say to labour, stop moaning as well. Get into the ring with us. Let us find solutions for the common good of our country.”
He acknowledged the crisis facing the country and the mining sector, which contributed for 7.53% of GDP in SA and employed 475,561 people.
Mining companies in SA are facing multiple challenges, including infrastructure, logistical problems and load-shedding.
“We are determined to remove all impediments and create an environment that will drive sustained growth in mining,” Ramaphosa said.
He also acknowledged that illegal mining and damaged infrastructure, such as cable theft on the freight rail network, regulatory backlogs such as prospecting and mining applications, as well as the slow pace of the structural reform programme, were issues and that the government was working to address them.
“Sometimes governments prefer to do things on their own. But faced with this type of crisis, we have seen that it is best to work with those who have a common interest with us.”
He said the police were working at illegal mining hot spots to prevent economic sabotage, the freight rail network was opening to third-party operators, and the government was strengthening its renewable energy programme while driving reforms to speed up electricity generation.
“In the last six months we have signed agreements for 25 projects representing 2,800MW of new capacity. These projects will soon be proceeding to construction.
“As part of streamlining regulatory processes, we are reducing the time frames for environmental authorisations, exempting energy projects from environmental authorisations for certain activities, and speeding up the process of registering new projects and grid connection approvals.”
He also said government had been driving a range of structural reforms through Operation Vulindlela, an initiative of the presidency in partnership with the National Treasury, the department of mineral resources and energy and other key departments.
The Minerals Council SA, which represents most mining companies in the country, praised his speech but called for speedy action.
“President Ramaphosa’s speech hit all the right notes and he has touched on the key points that are constraining the mining industry ... but it is absolutely vital that we see real urgency on implementing the interventions and measures he outlined. We need action. The time for talking has long passed,” said Roger Baxter, the CEO of Minerals Council SA.
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