Gwede Mantashe’s removal of B-BBEE rules for prospecting rights has ignited criticism from labour and activists, raising fears of a shift in policy.
Is the ANC-led government of national unity (GNU) about to sell out on the principle of broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE), the policy which has formed the bedrock of ANC policy and which has been in the crosshairs of its critics recently?
That’s the question which arises from the decision of Minerals and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe to remove the requirement for B-BBEE participation in prospecting rights.
According to some NGOs involved in the mining sector, Mantashe caved in to pressure from the mining lobby, not only on the prospecting licence rules, but also on the requirement that the minister must approve any change in control of listed companies that own mining rights.
The latter means that the government would be unable to track owners and assign responsibility to them for cleaning up mining sites once an ore body has reached the end of its profitable life.
That, say Mantashe’s accusers, means potential environmental damage on a huge scale.
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But it is the amendment to empowerment rules which has angered groups like organised labour, because there seems to be no logical reason for the deviation.
The latest development comes after Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi was pilloried for allegedly trying to soften empowerment law to allow Elon Musk’s Starlink to operate in South Africa.
That this was an incorrect reading of both the law and what Malatsi said made no difference to his enemies, who claimed the DA minister was “selling out” B-BBEE.
There is also some concern about whether the ANC is feeling the pressure of people like the right-wing lobby and its powerful friend, US President Donald Trump, who view empowerment laws as apartheid in reverse.
It seems unlikely the ANC would roll back these laws because it would be punished at the ballot box. Which leaves another question: What is Mantashe up to?
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