I have HMY for the Contest, but not in real life, here's why:
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s minerals and energy department today sought to ease nerves after one of its officials said at a conference last week that mining companies would pay if they did not comply with the new mining legislation. Chief director for minerals regulation in the minerals and energy department, Jacinto Rocha, told delegates that companies not complying with the minerals and energy act, promulgated in October last year, would face punitive measures.
The business sector looked dimly on the matter believing that they were being accused of being liars and cheats, minerals and energy department director-general, Sandile Nogxina, said. “This was not the case. We were just trying to say that the department was responsible for the law and that action would be taken against companies not meeting its provisions,” Nogxina said.
The mis-communication is unfortunate for the minerals and energy department which has not enjoyed the best start to 2003. Minerals and energy minister, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said in early January that the scorecard, a document that would prescribe how companies could meet black economic empowerment (BEE) targets, would be released within days. The fact of the matter is that the scorecard still resides with the principals of the document, namely business and unions, and has possibly weeks to run yet before it is released to the public.
Today’s clarification of Rocha’s statement was equally as confusing. Government said it had “… built good working relations with all stakeholders in the mining industry in the process of developing the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act. Furthermore, the finalization of the mining charter and the subsequent international road shows, cemented this healthy relationship between government and all stakeholders”. Unfortunately, analysts were not sure of what had been said at the conference.
Mlambo-Ngcuka added that: “… the Department of Minerals and Energy had identified key constraints and developed detailed plans with resource allocations to ensure efficient implementation of the new law”. Kanyo Gqulu, a spokesman for the department, said this related to the department’s attempt to solve its own human and technical resource limiations in managing the act and the charter. Key constraints related to people, marketing and IT issues, Gqulu said.
Commenting on progress with the scorecard, Gqulu said that the minerals and energy department had until March 31 to issue the document. This was in terms of a parliamentary decision that the charter had to be completed since months after promulgation of the act. The scorecard is now in the possession of mining industry participants including Barry Davison, executive chairman of Anglo Platinum, and Bridgette Radebe, president of small business organisation, SAMDA. “We’d rather take our time on this one rather than just passing it through quickly,” Gqulu said.
Fred |
