Committee Report on Western Cape Oversight; Committee Programme

Meeting report

Committee  Report on Oversight Visit to Western Cape
The Chairperson asked if the Committee is ready to adopt the report. He noted that they will not go through the report as it was done yesterday but they can consider certain issues that the Members would like to comment on. He pointed out that based on yesterday’s discussions there were not any major concerns about the body of the report but with the observations and the recommendations.

The Committee adopted the report.

Committee Programme
The Committee Secretary took the Committee  through the programme for the second term:
The first week on the second term is set aside for Committees to deal with Annual Performance Plan (APP) and budget proposals of the Department. On 4 May there is the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and its budget vote is around 21/22 May. On 5 May the Minerals entities accounting to DMRE will present. The 6 and 7 May will be allocated for the continuation of the DMRE entities. According to the parliamentary programme the budget vote debates start from 13 to 26 May and the Committee adoption of the DMRE budget report is provisionally scheduled for 18 May.

As per last term’s agreement, Eskom matters are to be prioritised and this will happen on 11 May. Also the Black Industrialist Programme has provisionally been placed on 11 May as a possible joint meeting with the Portfolio Committee  on Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) to be briefed by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. On 12 May there will be progress report by the South African Carbon Capture Council under the Council for GeoScience on carbon capture initiatives in South Africa. Part of the briefing will include the Council for Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR) on technologies. There will be a comprehensive briefing by the Mine, Health and Safety Council, South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA) and MINTEK on overlapping medical and related functions.

On 25 May, the Department of Justice, South African Police and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will speak about their roles in combatting illegal mining. This was another matter that Members wanted prioritised. On 26 May, the Central Energy Fund (CEF) will give a progress report on the restructuring process including an update on the forensic investigation. DMRE and CEF will give an update on the merger of CEF, Petrol SA, Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF) and IGas as well as the South Sudan Oil agreement.

On 1 June, DMRE will report on Quarter 4 2020/21 performance. On 2 June, the Committee will consider the third term programme and adopt outstanding minutes and reports. The constituency period will run from 7 June to 16 August.

The Chairperson added that there is a Committee Chairpersons meeting today which may bring to light other items to do with the programme taking into account the recess period. During the April recess, Members may reach out  if they become aware of urgent matters that may arise such as the fuel crisis that may get worse. It would be good to get proper briefing on the current state of the South Sudan agreement to find the best way forward. The Chairperson asked Members to comment on the proposed programme.

Mr K Mileham (DA) added that the conversation is also about Saudi Aramco. He agreed about the need for a comprehensive briefing by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) on the pricing perspective and Strategic Fuel Fund on what can be done to manage the crude oil price. He suggested looking into the refinery sector (six major refineries) to learn more on the implications involved in moving to cleaner fuels and/or moving back to normal refining capacity as they are currently performing at 57% capacity. Going forward he suggested a conversation between the refineries and NERSA.

Mr Mileham stated that the role of electricity distribution differs between municipalities and that affects their ability to recover revenue. For example, Sandton is provided electricity directly by Eskom and Alexander is provided electricity by the municipality which has higher prices than Sandton. He suggested a joint Portfolio Committee meeting where the role of electricity distribution can be discussed for better management.

Mr M Wolmarans (ANC) commented that the second term committee programme covers all issues. He asked that for the Black Industrialist Programme, DMRE provides the briefing independently so as to avoid any obscurity of matters in the discussion.

Ms P Madokwe (EFF) agreed with Mr Mileham on the lack of consistent electricity prices. She made a general comment on how the reports received on mining and petroleum were unclear, with a lot outstanding information and this should not be left until the next term to follow up. She asked about DMRE inviting community groups to discuss the impact of mining on mining communities. She referred to last year’s discussion on rehabilitation measures for when mines close.

Ms V Malinga (ANC) asked if licensing in Limpopo and KZN was discussed.

The Chairperson summarised the main talking points. The most urgent issue is the fuel crisis, the refinery challenges and electricity distribution stating there should be a programme within the department that can help deal with this.  The impact and experiences of mining communities and companies have been raised and they are yet to be discussed. The Black Industrialist Programme lies with DTIC and it should be invited to outline the nature of the programme and its outcomes. He told the Committee that they will focus on what is within their ranks and any issues outside that, the relevant institutions will be invited to brief them such as on illegal mining. On licencing, DMRE is yet to give them feedback and it would do another presentation by end of June on how it managed the challenges that were identified. He asked for adoption of the programme.

The Committee moved for the adoption of the programme.

The Chairperson said that the points raised by Mr Mileham will be accommodated in the first week of the term. When going on the visit to Koeberg, Members would need to take a Covid-19 test a few days before.

Committee minutes
The Committee  considered and adopted minute meetings of 9, 10 and 16 March 2021.

Matters arising
The Chairperson asked the Director General to brief them about the workshop and the meeting with communities.

Director General Thabo Mokoena replied that the workshop took place yesterday and he spoke to the Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) leader who reported all went well. They wanted to hold the meeting with the community organisations  next week in line with the resolution of the Portfolio Committee. However not everyone is around next week as it will be a physical meeting with the Minister. Therefore it will now take place in the last week of March.

The Chairperson asked if the meeting with the community organisations  would have taken place by the time the Committee returns after recess as the Committee had sent a progress report to the Speaker in response to the correspondence from the Speaker.

The DG responded by confirming that it would have.

The Chairperson urged Members to reach out to him during the break should there be issues arising.

The meeting was adjourned.