Africa: The National Mining Consultative Forum Digs Deep to Find Mining Solutions
Posted on : Monday , 14th September 2015
Pretoria — The National Mining Consultative Forum is underway at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse, in Pretoria, to look into ways of saving thousands of jobs in mining and to mitigate challenges facing the sector.
On Tuesday, Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi briefed media ahead of the meeting convened by President Jacob Zuma. He said the meeting will propose possible solutions to problems facing the sector, and will also review progress made since the last meeting.
Minister Ramatlhodi said the situation in the mining sector is serious enough to warrant continuous monitoring and mitigation, hence the forum has been escalated to the Presidency.
He said ensuring that the sector is sustainable is as important as saving jobs.
"They are both important; you have to save the mines; you have to save the jobs," he said.
The forum is also attended by a number of Ministers, organised labour and organised business.
In his opening remarks, President Zuma said the meeting represents aspirations to reinstate the necessary confidence in the mining industry development, which remains a key pillar of the economy.
"We meet under difficult conditions. The global economy is experiencing a downturn which is posing a challenge for South Africa's economy, which is a net exporter of key mineral commodities.
"Recent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures released by Statistics SA show that the economy contracted by 1.3% in the second quarter of the year," said President Zuma.
He said the sustained depressed commodity prices and the risk of job losses necessitated urgent intervention by all stakeholders in South Africa.
He congratulated stakeholders for signing the declaration last week, which seeks to explore all options to save jobs.
"You also agreed 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," said the President.
He said mining remains a critical component of the economy and a backbone of the South African economy.
The President said the Mining Phakisa, which will be convened next month, seeks to position the industry as a catalyst for development, maximize the development of the industry across all value chains in the country, and find a win-win solutions for mineral beneficiation.
He said a steady improvement in peace and stability has been evident since the implementation of the Framework Agreement for a Sustainable Mining Industry, which was entered into by organised labour, organised business and government.
"We should all commit to the full implementation of all the elements of the Framework Agreement, and also emphasise the need to be responsive to the needs of the communities within which mines operate," said the President.
He said the acceleration of development in improving conditions within the priority mining towns, as well as labour sending areas remain of utmost importance.
The President urged stakeholders to strengthen collaboration with regard to the socio-economic development of communities affected by mining.
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