(Budget vote debate in Parliament: Mineral Resources and Energy)
The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy today demonstrated very little leadership or vision for the ongoing economic crisis in South Africa. Instead, it appears as if he is caught in modes of thinking about mining and energy that belong to a previous era. New ways of thinking about these things must come from new sources, both from within and outside of the government.
The Department has formulated its own objective of regulating the mining sector for transformation, growth and development. It seems, however, that transformation – particularly for the benefit of already empowered "previously disadvantaged" – is taking precedence.
The current boom in the commodities market does indeed benefit mining in South Africa, but it is also contributing greatly to the serious decline of certain transport infrastructure. Thus, sustainable growth and development are largely eliminated.
In fact, it is to the detriment of some communities. At Kromdraai in the Emalahleni municipal area, residential areas are suffering damages because of nearby opencast mining. In Nigel (Ekhurhuleni), residents may soon face the emergence of acid mine water from deserted mines, as a result of poor regulation.
Another question on the lips of role-players in the mining industry is whether the Minister will abide by the judgement to regard the Mining Charter as a mere guideline, or will he attempt to include it in legislation? It is considered an important reason for South Africa losing its appeal as a preferred destination for mining investment.
With regard to energy, it seems that the transition to a carbon-neutral economy is at the top of the agenda worldwide. In South Africa, the same is true for many role-players in the private sector, but it seems as if the Department is clinging to the previous dispensation. It is recognised that the country will remain dependent on coal for energy for the time being, but the Department is failing to pave the way to a new reality.
In his speech, the Minister once again committed to extracting gas on the South African coast and shale gas in the central Karoo. He claims that it is commercially viable even though exploration had ceased a few years ago and at the time, there had been no certainty about whether any exploitable reserves actually do exist. This raises the question of how the Minister arrived at today's conclusion?
While South Africa's capacity to refine crude oil into fuel decreases every year, the Department provides no clear picture of where South Africa is headed with regard to transport energy. Is the European objective of transitioning to electric vehicles being pursued, which will ultimately make liquid fuel redundant? Are investors needed to retain existing refineries or get others up and running again? Or will the country simply import more fuel ready for consumption? The Minister failed to address these questions.
And in the meantime, the entire country is plagued by load shedding. The Minister considers nuclear power as an important part of the solution to the problem, but it seems that he does not distinguish between the regulatory board for nuclear power, on the one hand, and the board of the entity that must operate nuclear power on the other. And this is undermining confidence in his leadership, even if nuclear power were to play an important role in the future.
The energy market in South Africa must be deregulated. The time of large-scale and centralised power supply is over. New developments in power generation, as well as electronic control systems, make this possible.
For the mining and energy sectors to help the country's economy recover, it is vital that the Department starts governing with its eyes on the road ahead, rather than the rear-view mirror.
