EFF REJECTS THE MINING CHARTER

Friday, 28 September, 2018

The EFF rejects the mining charter's "once empowered always empowered" nonsense. It is nothing but another capitulation by the ruling ANC to beneficiaries of apartheid racist economy. The recognition of the so called "once empowered, always empowered" practice is nonsensical and a clear demonstration that the ANC is in collaboration with reactionary forces.

"Once empowered, always empowered" is nothing but Cyril Ramaphosa's political expediency, and it is yet another reminder that Ramaphosa and the ANC will not hesitate to preserve the status quo of apartheid economy at the expense of lives of poor people, mine workers, communities and South Africans in general.

Mining companies, like they did before, will opportunistically comply with the 30% and later on push out the charter prescribed shareholders after years of no dividends as they loot proceeds of mining through aggressive tax avoidance. It is not a secret that majority of mining companies have failed to meet previous mining charter targets. Only 20% of mining rights holder was reported to have met ownership target of 30% in 2015.

Furthermore, mining rights holders exploited historically disadvantaged shareholders as more than 64% of deals did not create any economic benefits. Mining companies continue to aggressively avoid tax and claim no profits to avoid paying dividends to shareholders. It is a fact that there is widespread practice of fronting in the mining sector, which brings into question even the 20% of mining rights holders reported to have met ownership target.

The decision to allow existing mining right holder who have achieved a minimum of 26% BEE shareholding to be recognized as compliant for the duration of the mining right must also be rejected.

All this is made worse by the government decision to withdraw the MPRDA Amendment Bill which was beginning to include meaningful state ownership in mineral and petroleum sectors. This is after the ANC failed to make sure that the MPRDA Amendment Bill is passed into law 5 years after it was introduced in the National Assembly. The ANC is hell-bent on making sure that the creation of a functional state-owned mining company with strategic control of mineral resources for local beneficiation is near impossible.

It is therefore misleading, disingenuous and dishonest to claim that the released mining charter represents consensus by all stakeholders when the only stakeholder who will benefit is white owned mining companies at the expense Of mine workers, affected mining communities and South Africans in general.

Statement issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, 28 September 2018