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Revitalisation of mining towns critical

27th March 2015

  

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It is important for the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements to hold those tasked with the implementation of the Special Presidential Package for Distressed Mining Towns accountable, chairperson Nocawe Mafu says, stating that this project is critical for the wellbeing of the mineworkers and their families.

For this reason the portfolio committee reiterated in Parliament, on March 10, to the Interministerial Committee (IMC) responsible for the development of mining towns and the eradication of informal settlements the importance of tabling quarterly reports to enable MPs to track progress made in the implementation of the project.

“We want to see concrete progress in the implementation of this project,” Mafu says, adding that stagnation in the project is intolerable.

The IMC, which comprises the departments of Human Settlements, Mineral Resources and Labour, as well as the Presidency, recently briefed the committee on its plans to implement a commitment made by President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation Address (Sona), on February 12.

Zuma highlighted that government undertook to revitalise distressed mining communities and eradicate informal settlements.

Department of Human Settlements (DHS) chief of operations Mbulelo Tshangana says the scope of this project includes 15 towns in Limpopo, Gauteng, North West, Mpumalanga and the Free State.

He adds that the DHS’s work also focuses on revitalising 12 priority labour-sending areas in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

The estimated budget for this project, according to the IMC, exceeds R9-billion, with government providing more than R6-billion and mining companies contributing more than R3-billion.

Despite the contribution mining companies have made towards this project, committee members are demanding that there be guidelines indicating how much mining companies should contribute to this project and other relevant projects.

Plans Welcomed
The Chamber of Mines (CoM) has welcomed government’s plans to revitalise distressed mining towns in the country, thereby improving the living conditions of miners.

“We believe that the industry can better assist government when infrastructure and basic services planning is a shared responsibility so that we begin to see the critical mass change in respect of addressing human settlements and other community needs,” says CoM VP Khanyisile Kweyama.

During the Sona, Zuma announced that government had ringfenced a total of R2.1-billion to revitalise distressed mining towns, with R290-million having been approved for informal settlement upgrading in the provinces of Mpumalanga, the North West, Gauteng, the Northern Cape, Limpopo and the Free State.

The CoM says its member companies are implementing the Municipal Capacity Building Project, which seeks to assist municipalities within mining provinces with scarce skills that are needed for better planning and project implementation.

Meanwhile, the CoM has voiced its approval to government’s intention to fast-track the establishment of a “mining lab” as part of Operation Phakisa.

“This initiative is a demonstration that we are [done with] talk shops [and] more focused on collective action premised on sound economic and administrative decisions and actions that can drive investment, growth and transformation in mining,” says CoM COO Roger Baxter.

The chamber is focused on working at leadership level with government and other stakeholders to promote transformative change to grow investment in the mining sector, he says

.

The chamber is also encouraged by the way in which government is critically addressing the energy crisis facing the country.

“We are pleased by the pronouncements but we would like to hear more about what will be done [regarding] Eskom in the medium-term so that business gains the confidence that its production schedules will not be compromised,” says CoM president Mike Teke.

The chamber says the mining industry is already playing a key role in electricity load reduction and is committed to working with government on a sustainable solution, which includes the supply from the Grand Inga Project hydroelectric scheme.

The CoM notes that it is critically important for the mining sector and the country that government drives collective solutions that restore Eskom’s reserve margin and builds competitive, stable and available electricity supply for the country in the medium and longer term.

Edited by Leandi Kolver
Creamer Media Deputy Editor

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