Publications
Partners
Cape Town – Government’s Mining Phakisa in October will seek to catalyse the development of the embattled mining industry, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday.
The mining sector has been battling due to low commodity prices and was one of the main causes of South Africa’s shrinking economic growth, which recorded a 1.3% contraction in the second quarter of 2015.
Zuma told delegates at the National Mining Consultative Forum on the Framework Agreement for a Sustainable Mining Industry that the meeting should help “reinstate the necessary confidence in the mining industry”.
READ: Zuma urges mining turnaround plan
He congratulated the mining industry, unions and the government for signing a declaration on 31 August 2015 to stop a wave of job losses, which was started by falling commodity prices and rising costs.
Zuma praised the stakeholders for agreeing to implement the intervention plan that addresses the underlying causes of retrenchments. “These interventions will assist our collective initiatives to support the sustainable growth and development of the mining industry.”
Employees in the mining, telecommunications and metal industries have been affected the most in 2015 as 58 companies cut at least 45 000 jobs, according to trade union Solidarity’s report on the retrenchment crisis.
READ: Urgent intervention needed to save mining sector - Zuma
Zuma said mining is a critical component of the economy and said the government was acting decisively to ensure that the sector remains viable and continues its positive contribution to the economy.
He said the Mining Phakisa in October “seeks to position the industry as a catalyst for development, maximise the development of the industry across all value chains in the country, and find win-win solutions for mineral beneficiation”.
The meeting’s objective is to unlock investment and optimise the sector's positive impacts on the economy and society, he said.
READ: SA seals mining jobs deal, proposes platinum plan
Zuma acknowledged the constraints that electricity challenges pose on the mining sector. “We believe we are making good progress in ensuring that we have a stable electricity supply that will catalyse the economic growth of South Africa and the region as a whole,” he said.
Peace and stability in the mining sector had improved, said Zuma, adding that the “acceleration of development in improving conditions within the priority mining towns as well as labour sending areas remain of utmost importance”.
