It is ironic that Botswana has beaten South Africa to the exploration cadastre punch using proudly South African technology. The technology in question has been received with open arms by the rest of the mining world but sardonically spurned in its country of birth.
South Africa chose many years ago to reinvent its own rival system, which has been widely publicised as failing to compete with what the rest of the world is offering. While the cadastre issue should have been solved many years ago, the current climate in South Africa makes the invitation of open tenders essential, even though time is not on our side.
The South African people will be well served now if the tender process can be conducted and completed in an exemplary manner. Exploration attracts instant foreign investment and props up a mining industry that, as we speak, is saving the day for the South African fiscus.