Mining Charter should be withdrawn – Frans Baleni

7th February 2018 By: Martin Creamer - Creamer Media Editor

Mining Charter should be withdrawn – Frans Baleni

Frans Baleni
Photo by: Duane Daws

CAPE TOWN (miningweekly.com) – In the spirit of meaningful dialogue, the Mining Charter should be withdrawn and all key stakeholders must have a serious dialogue about the future of a sustainable mining industry in South Africa, Mining Indaba advisory board member and former leading mining trade unionist Frans Baleni said on Wednesday.

Speaking on day three of the Investing in African Mining Indaba, Baleni said such dialogue should be characterised by mutual commitment, which should not be compromised.

“Change must happen,” the former secretary general of the National Union of Mineworkers demanded in reference to the unilateral manner in which the controversial Mining Charter Three was gazetted without consultation by errant Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane, against whom a warrant of arrest is reportedly being prepared for the alleged misappropriation of R30-million prior to his appointment as Minister.

He submitted that fundamental transformation could coexist with sustainable mining, which was essential to the new definition of prosperity.

“Let’s build a better Africa for all who live in it,” Baleni added in this year of celebrating the 100 years of Nelson Mandela, who said: “Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are educated and passionate about what they do.”

The driving of mining investment into the African continent was the main purpose of the Mining Indaba, which was helping to bring about a shared future in a fractured world by bringing together all the stakeholders of the global mining industry.

“We’ve got a duty to help to reconstruct Africa through engagement in order to create a prosperous continent,” Baleni told those attending the event, in which Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly Online is taking part.

“Through the positive impact of dialogue, we’ve seen high levels of appetite to invest in Africa and to create sustainable employment,” he said, expressing excitement about the innovation displayed at this year’s Mining Indaba and the involvement of young people.