Ramphele: Past haunts SA mining

[sox63]

Cape Town - Mining in South Africa has entered a new era, Gold Fields chairperson Mamphela Ramphele said on Wednesday.

"We have to accept that the traditional way of mining in SA, with its reliance on cheap and low-skilled labour, is over. You better get used to it. It is not sustainable," she told Mining Indaba delegates in Cape Town.

"The tragic events of Marikana and protests by agriculture sector workers... are a wake-up call, alerting SA to the many time-bombs waiting to go off."

Ramphele was referring to a strike at Lonmin's platinum mine in Marikana, North West, in August last year. Thirty-four mineworkers were shot dead and 78 wounded when police opened fire while trying to disperse a group of protesters gathered on a hill near the mine. In the preceding week, 10 people, including two policemen and two security guards, were killed.

She was also referring to violent protests by striking farmworkers in the Western Cape for a R150 a day minimum wage.

Ramphele said these incidents were the "legacy of the past" coming home to haunt the country.

Mining revenues were not being shared equitably.

"For the most, mining tax revenues vanish in the black hole that is the central fiscus and end up becoming large rural estates for presidents," she said.

Turnaround was possible, if industry leaders engaged in what Ramphele called difficult conversations.

"We often avoid difficult conversations because we believe the business of business, as one CEO told me, is to make money regardless of the socio-political environment."

She said three key issues would need to be addressed; how to build a mine that insured benefits and risks were shared more equitably; how to deal with the effects of mine operations; and what needed to change in the paradigm of sustainable mining.

I find myself agreeing with everything she says. She better start her own party soon because the DA and the ANC would never agree with what she is saying I think. DA would not blame "the past" and the ANC would not agree with "tax revenues vanishing in the black hole that is the central fiscus"

 

[grok]

"For the most, mining tax revenues vanish in the black hole that is the central fiscus and end up becoming large rural estates for presidents," she said.

Don't you just love how they all see the problem, but never suggest a solution.

 

[Mila]

Its a world wide phenomena. It's the world's past that haunts us not SA's.

 

[TelkomUseless]

Don't you just love how they all see the problem, but never suggest a solution.

I'm tired of them stating the bloody obvious and nothing gets done.It's just lip service....

 

[Paul_S]

Legislate whatever you like ... once mining in SA becomes unprofitable (and it's at the tipping point), mining companies will shut down and investors will look elsewhere.
The stupidity astounds me.

 

[wikk3d88]

I'm tired of them stating the bloody obvious and nothing gets done.It's just lip service....

It's a clever dig at the ANC, without falling into the trap FNB did.
Big business holds significant sway over the ruling party.

 

[Space_Chief]

I find myself agreeing with everything she says. She better start her own party soon because the DA and the ANC would never agree with what she is saying I think. DA would not blame "the past" and the ANC would not agree with "tax revenues vanishing in the black hole that is the central fiscus"

Well she is Gold Fields chairwoman so she's not gonna bite the hand that feeds. In the past, I believe, she said she wanted to clean up UCT from its "English schoolboy" politics or whatever it was.

But what problem is it of the mining company what the government does with the cash?

LOL, and today on BBC a minister from Senegal was saying how much business West Africa is getting from foreign investments, especially those leaving SA. I think rest of Africa will give SA the middle finger.

 

[dlk001]

In the past, I believe, she said she wanted to clean up UCT from its "English schoolboy" politics or whatever it was.

There were a lot of politics among the Deans and Deputy Vice Chancellors as to the direction UCT was going to take going into the new South Africa. It was actually a vision of Dr Stuart Saunders to transform UCT and Mamphele was committed to building UCT's record of excellence in teaching, research within the context of transformation initiated by Saunders. She also did a lot of work in empowering women in the university. She was a very strict person when it came to gender equality, academic excellence and research.