The current state of the local mining industry should not be allowed to undermine South Africa’s global competitiveness, says former Anglo American South Africa CEO Kuseni Dlamini. Nonetheless, the industry veteran believes that South Africa has what it takes to be a globally competitive nation, but adds that “bold and courageous action” is first needed to stabilise the industry.

“Decisive measures are required to restore investor and public confidence, which has been seriously undermined by the protracted . . . crisis,” he says, adding that government, the industry and labour need to devise and propagate a common and constructive language as a foundation for leadership.

Dlamini believes that key industry role-players should do their best to restore sustainable peace and stability in the country.

“We need bold, visible and visionary leadership and we need union, mine and government leaders to engage directly with workers to restore trust and build constructive relationships.”

He further highlights the need for the formulation, articulation and perpetuation of a shared vision of the industry’s future by all leaders on a sustained basis and adds that South Africa is losing investment to other mining nations, which is “undesirable and unhelpful for the country’s growth and employment creation projects”.

Dlamini believes that the current state of the mining industry will determine the way South Africa is perceived in the next World Competitiveness report. He tells Mining Weekly that, in the last report, South Africa ranked top in financial services, but was bottom of the log when it came to management- employee relations.

The current state of the mining industry will also determine what the rating agencies will say next about the country.

“We, therefore, need to act now so that we can prevent the likelihood of adverse views from rating agencies and the authors of the next World Competitiveness report which, inter alia, inform investor perceptions on the country’s attractiveness as an investment location.”

Dlamini highlights that, as a result of the current instability of the mining sector, mineworkers are even more at risk of losing their lives on the job. Families in labour-sending areas should not have to live with the fear of having their loved ones come back from the mines in coffins or wheel- chairs like the families of soldiers in war zones.

He adds that, for business, it is commercially unthinkable that sustainable value creation can be attainable in an unstable and conflict-ridden environment. Cordial and sound relations between workers and management are, therefore, key to profitability, without which business is not sustainable in the medium to long term.
Dlamini emphasises the need for sustained constructive dialogue and believes measures need to be put in place to build confidence and trust in the industry.

“Good leaders build and inspire trust on a sustained basis; bad leaders destroy it. There is a need for all leaders to be trained and developed on how to lead and succeed in low-trust environments such as the one prevalent in South Africa’s mining industry. There are no shortcuts. We need to go back to basics.”

He further highlights the need to maintain jobs and create new ones through investment in the industry. This, he says, can be achieved by improving the global competitiveness of the local mining industry.

This requires a mindset that is aware of the ruthless competitiveness of the global mining investment landscape. “Having the resources beneath our feet is not enough. We need to create and sustain an attractive environment for local and foreign investors to invest their capital, which requires responsible leadership and the strategic alignment of government, industry and labour leaders.

“Further, these leaders need to realise that they sink or swim together. They owe it to the country to resolve the issues in a sensible and mature way that will safeguard the country’s national economic interest. “They should put the interests of the country above all else.”

There Is Hope
South Africa’s mining industry has faced and survived difficult challenges before and, therefore, has what it takes to emerge strongly and united from the current crisis, says Dlamini.

“We need a paradigm shift from talk to action and we need to constantly review and revise our action plans to ensure that quality results and outputs are delivered,” he says, further stressing the need for South Africa to position itself as a globally competitive and compelling location for businesses of all kinds.

“To be in the top league of global competitiveness rankings does not happen by chance or accident. It is a product of well-thought-out and orchestrated strategies and policies, executed with discipline and a single- minded focus on results. South Africa needs that.”

Meanwhile, Dlamini lauds President Jacob Zuma’s decision to assign Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe to lead the peace and stability talks in the mining industry to ensure that this year’s wage negotiations are peaceful.