Economic Development Committee Programme & Committee Report on Oversight Visit: consideration & adoption

Meeting report

Consideration and Adoption of Committee Draft Programme
The Chairperson noted that the Committee needed to finalise the programme so that it could be forwarded to the relevant authority- House Chairpersons of Committees. If the programme was not submitted, the Committee would then have to apply for permission every time it wanted to convene. Members therefore had to adopt the programme, even though it was subject to change.

Mr J Gunda (ID; Northern Cape) proposed that Members attend the briefing by the Department of Mining on the Mine Health and Safety Act on the 25^th August.

Mr M Maine (ANC; North West) agreed with the recommendation.

Ms E van Lingen (DA; Eastern Cape) advised that the Minister of Energy should organise a conference on sustainable renewable energy.  At present, the Minister was focused on solar energy and needed to look into other forms of energy. Lastly, Ms van Lingen asked if Members were satisfied with the 31% electricity tariff increase that was granted to Eskom.

The Chairperson explained that it was the decision of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to grant Eskom the increase. The Minister had spoken out against this decision in her budget speech because she recognised that the poor would be most adversely affected. Although various energy summits were scheduled to take place, the Committee had a responsibility to engage with these matters on a deeper level.

Members approved the programme.

The Chairperson noted that while the Committee had adopted the Programme, it was still subject to further change.

Consideration and Adoption of Committee Minutes
The Committee considered the Minutes dated 4 June and 10 June 2009. Minor corrections were made to both sets of Minutes and they were subsequently adopted.

Consideration and Adoption of Report on oversight visit to the Harmony Gold mine in Welkom

The Chairperson invited Members to comment on the report.

A member expressed concern about the number of grammatical and typing errors in the report. He pointed out a few examples of mistakes in the report.

The Chairperson stated that he was satisfied with overall quality of the report even though he acknowledged that it needed to be refined by the Members. He noted that Members were in possession of the report since last week and were given an opportunity to make changes to the document before it was tabled before the Committee.

Mr K Sinclair (ANC; Northern Cape) thanked the Chairperson for arranging the oversight visit. He noted that, in terms of the report, the total value of illegal activities was charged at R 5, 6 billion. He argued that the figure was a conservative estimate because more parties, which were not referred to in the report, were also involved in the operation. Activities of this magnitude occurred with the collusion of mining houses as well as the police and security officials.

The Chairperson stated that the Committee needed to interrogate the report further and invite all the relevant role players in order to tackle the issue thoroughly.

Mr Maine congratulated the Committee Secretary for a well drafted report and suggested that the presentation made by the Harmony Gold Mines be attached to the report.

Ms van Lingen asked about the role of unions in addressing the working conditions of the mineworkers. The South African Police Service (SAPS) had indicated that it had plans to improve and tighten security in mines but these plans were still not made available to the Committee.

Mr S Montsisi (ANC; Gauteng) pointed out that the recommendations (included in the report) needed to be expanded and clarified so that Members could have a better understanding. In addition, he was disturbed by the fact that there was some form of collusion and co-operation by mines in these illegal activities.

The Chairperson commented that it was the responsibility of the Committee to initiate legislation that would enable and empower security officers and police in mines to effectively arrest trespassers and those involved in illegal activities.

The Chairperson indicated that the Members comments would be taken into consideration.

Members adopted the report with amendments.

The meeting was adjourned.