Accepted.
Chairperson, chairperson of the select committee, hon Freddie Adams, hon members, and Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources, welcome.
I am pleased to get yet another opportunity to present our Budget Vote to this important House, which is the NCOP. Before I deal with the business of the day, I would like to take this opportunity to pay a special tribute to the fallen hero of our struggle, our mother, the mother of the nation, Mama Albertina Sisulu, who passed away on 1 June 2011. Those of us who became involved in the struggle as young women have fond memories of how she instilled discipline amongst us. She taught us humility and also schooled us in the art of balancing our role as activists and being young women and mothers. We are truly grateful for her contribution to both our personal and political lives.
We are a government department that has an obligation to ensure that we use our regulatory competence to contribute to the overall aim of job creation. Members may recall that President Zuma in his state of the nation address earlier this year placed this right at the top of the agenda for the term of this government.
In carrying out these demanding commitments, we are pleased to present to this House a budget allocation for 2011-12 of an amount of just R1 billion. This represents an increase of R40 million from the previous year's budget of R995 million. In managing this budget, extra care will be taken to ensure that we are able to successfully service all nine provinces and bring service delivery to our people.
We are operating within an environment where prospects for an improved performance of the mining industry have never been so favourable. The prevailing set of circumstances that I indicated shows we are slowly emerging from the recession and this presents the mining industry with an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to our gross domestic product, GDP, and job creation.
Our mining and minerals industry continues to be a crucial backbone of our economy. Working together with our social partners, organised labour, business and other sister state departments, we have developed a growth and transformation strategy which identifies binding constraints to the growth of this sector.
We have identified the steps that are required to optimise this sector's extractive capacity, attract investment and develop the potential to create jobs, and these have been captured in the New Growth Path. This will ensure that the mining sector realistically unleashes its growth, employment and transformation potential to enable it to be the sunrise industry that it has proven to be.
To this end, we are collaborating with other key partners such as the Departments of Transport, Public Enterprises, Energy, and Water and Environmental Affairs to ensure that we address the binding constraints that have been identified, which include rail and road networks, energy infrastructure, and access by the industry to scarce water resources.
I am also pleased to report that the African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation, the rudimentary organ of the state-owned mining company, recently launched its first coal mining project in the province of Mpumalanga. Consequently, it has managed to have its first coal stockpile, which it will supply to Eskom this month.
When we addressed this House last year, it was during a period that was characterised by a great deal of concern from our international and domestic investors about our administrative processes framework. Amongst the concerns raised was the slow pace of processing applications.
In responding to concerns raised, I instructed the director-general to visit all nine provinces to investigate the costs and proposed remedial actions. In the light of his report, I imposed a moratorium on new prospecting applications to allow us the time and space to systematically correct and improve our administrative processes.
During this period of the moratorium, we conducted audit inspections and reviews. The outcome of this audit pointed to, amongst other things, cases of administrative errors, such as double granting, fronting, nonpayment of prospecting licences, noncompliance with environmental management plans, as well as cases of rights-holders who could not be traced. In a bid to enhance transparency and effectiveness, we have since launched an online licensing system called the South African Mineral Resources Administration, Samrad. This system will reduce the human involvement in the processing of applications.
I have since lifted the moratorium in all provinces, except Mpumalanga, due to its unique complexities and challenges. We anticipate that the moratorium will be lifted in September this year.
With a view to maximising our national benefits from our mineral resources, we are pleased that we have now formally apprised Cabinet and received tacit approval on our beneficiation strategy. We are confident that this has given us a firm basis to pursue a comprehensive and integrated approach to mineral beneficiation.
Down-stream, side-stream and up-stream activities and industries that associate with our mineral wealth will be systematically and carefully structured so as to achieve our overall objective of job creation and increased government revenue. While we are steaming ahead with our beneficiation strategy, we are not oblivious to the fact that beneficiation, resource-intensive as it is, is simultaneously knowledge- intensive.
In this regard, working together and in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology and other science councils, such as Mintek and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR, we will collaborate on issues related to research and development. This will ensure that innovation becomes the epicentre of beneficiation. This will, amongst other things, include energy and water consumption efficiency solutions.
We are currently reviewing the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act to improve its current construction in order to remove ambiguities and make provision for effective consultation processes. In addition to the above, we will be strengthening the law to allow the Minister to invite applications for mining rights where rights were removed or expired.
The amendment would also include strengthening the environmental provisions to ensure that we promote sustainable and responsible mining. In the same vein, we have identified the need to review the Mine Health and Safety Act. This review will strengthen enforcement provisions, reinforce penalties, provide clarity on certain definitions and expressions, as well as effect certain amendments to ensure consistency with other laws, particularly the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. These amendments, as well as new regulations, will soon go through the parliamentary process.
We have also been inundated with a number of concerns emanating from some of our communities where mining activity is taking place. Our assessment is that these concerns emanate from outstanding issues that were never fully addressed; a lack of understanding of the role of the regulator in addressing community issues; a lack of understanding of what should be done by mining companies, as well as noncompliance on the part of rights-holders on the commitments that they have made to affected communities, which, I must indicate, we are not always aware of.
I want to assure hon members that we are addressing these concerns in a structured way. I am also aware that these very matters arose during the NCOP's recent visits to various communities. It is our intention to work together with this House to address community concerns.
President Zuma recently visited Motlhotloa to launch an empowerment project which places communities as direct beneficiaries of empowerment. This transaction is a model that should be replicated, as it may very well provide a model for resolving the community and business dynamics. Working together with the NCOP, we will be guided by the framework of the Nhlapo commission, particularly when dealing with the concerns from communities within the jurisdiction of traditional leaders.
As I said last year, we have embarked on a programme of rehabilitating derelict, ownerless and unrehabilitated mines. Even though funding still remains a challenge, we are addressing this matter where mines continue to pose a serious environmental and health risk to the neighbouring communities.
We have embarked on a programme to permanently eliminate environmental damage by getting the land impacted by the mining activity back to a sustainable, usable condition. Accordingly, five derelict and ownerless mine sites were rehabilitated in the 2010-11 financial year.
These sites are as follows: Jebolo, Owendale, Strelley, and the Prieska mine site and Prieska mill site respectively. This year we have prioritised and are rehabilitating additional sites. They are Osizweni in KwaZulu- Natal; Lusikisiki quarry in the Eastern Cape; Penge, Mafefe and Kromellenboog in Limpopo; and Heuningvlei, Vergenoegd, Gamatsamai and Bestwell in the Northern Cape.
We have also developed a new set of comprehensive measures to ensure that we do not have a continuation of this unfortunate legacy. Going forward, companies will be requested to review their financial provision for rehabilitation so as to ensure that rehabilitation takes place post mining.
I am pleased that Cabinet has endorsed our earlier and correct decision to impose a moratorium on shale gas exploration in the Karoo. I have since appointed a task team of senior government officials, led by my department, to conduct further research, including looking at some of the international experiences, in order better to inform our policy and approach on this matter. I am anticipating that I will receive a report from this task team at the end of July this year.
My department is greatly concerned about both the continued loss of life and health challenges facing the mining sector. The mining industry cannot afford to continue losing lives at this alarming rate. It is quite clear to me that we need a radical approach to turn this around, and we will do so even as we respond to the expected growth of mining, especially in the North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Northern Cape regions respectively.
My department will continue with interventions including, amongst other things, restructuring the inspectorate to improve our enforcement capacity in the regional offices. This will incorporate the establishment of regional compliance and investigation units.
These units will be focusing on inspections and audits. Legal advisors or practitioners will also be appointed at regional offices to assist with investigations and enquiries, and enhance the possibility of prosecutions as and when necessary. The North West regional office will be split into two separate offices, and satellite offices will be established in other identified regions to improve on the monitoring and evaluation of the health and safety programmes at the affected mines.
Also, the chief directorate of occupational health has been established and its operational mandate is to enhance the focus on occupational health matters. The Mining Qualifications Authority, MQA, will spend R260 million on supporting the mining and minerals industry with skills development. This figure excludes mandatory grants of approximately R350 million being given back to the industry.
There is a need to continue our partnership with further education and training, FET, colleges through the MQAs, with the FET artisan development initiatives, particularly in areas where there is significant growth in mining. Already there is noticeable progress in a number of mines, which include Upington, Rustenburg, Phalaborwa, Sekhukhune and Vhembe, with regard to artisan training.
Work experience is important for graduates in the area of mining engineering, geology, and environmental metallurgy. The MQA is supporting this objective through the allocation of bursaries to about 500 learners who are studying towards mining-related qualifications at universities across all provinces.
The department will monitor these programmes to ensure that the intended beneficiaries do indeed benefit from this initiative.
In conclusion, I want to thank my senior officials and the rest of the Department of Mineral Resources staff for their commitment and dedicated support. I also want to indicate to this House that our director-general, Adv Sandile Nogxina, who is not here today due to work commitments, will be going on early retirement this month.
He has been with the department for 14 years, and I must say that he has contributed well and steered this ship in a way that has taken us to where we are now. He has been committed to the transformation of this sector, and his contribution cannot be forgotten. Thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, and hon Members of the NCOP, in his state of the nation address, as the Minister has mentioned, the President declared 2011 the year of job creation through meaningful economic transformation and inclusive growth.
Mining and beneficiation were highlighted as one of the six priority areas where jobs can be created. The President gave a directive that all government departments should align their programmes with the job creation imperative. The President further instructed government to fill all funded vacant posts. A significant announcement made by the President with respect to mineral resources was the endorsement of the African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation as the state-owned mining company that will undertake the mining of minerals of strategic significance.
The President's emphasis on job creation is in line with the New Growth Path Framework, which aims to create 5 million jobs by 2020. The framework identified the mining value chain as one of the sectors to be prioritised for job creation.
The framework projects that the mining sector can create 140 000 jobs by 2020, and 200 000 by 2030. This means that the sector should create, on average, approximately 15 556 jobs per year, beginning in the year 2011-12, in order to achieve its 2020 target.
The prospects for the mining industry look good as it is expected to grow at an average of 4% to 7% in volume during 2011, recovering to the levels preceding the economic crisis. The department, therefore, anticipates that the 40 000 jobs that were lost during the crisis will be created during the course of this year.
The department, during its presentation to the select committee on its budget and strategic plan, briefed the committee as follows. After the split of the Department of Minerals and Energy, one of the focus areas of the department in its three-year strategic plan, 2010-11 to 2012-13, was to finalise a service-level agreement with the Mining Qualifications Authority, MQA, to support and improve the current initiatives to address the skills shortage in the department. In its strategic plan for 2010-11 to 2012-13, the department reported that a mine rehabilitation strategy has been developed and adopted by the Minister of Mineral Resources and an associated implementation plan was being developed. The department also announced the development of the beneficiation strategy implementation plan. The department also developed a new small-scale mining strategy.
The department has a budget, as we heard the Minister announce now, of R1 billion for this financial year. Transfers and subsidies have been allocated at R438,4 million or 42% of the total Budget Vote allocation. The largest share of the transfers and subsidies - 54,3% - has been allocated to public corporations and private enterprises. A total of 45,4% will be transferred to departmental agencies and accounts.
Of particular importance is the promotion of the Mine Safety and Health Programme. This programme aims to ensure the safe mining of minerals under healthy working conditions. The programme is composed of two subprogrammes: the Governance Policy and Oversight Programme and the Mine Health and Safety Programme in the regions.
The programme's budget increased by 3,8% in nominal terms, but decreased by 0,9% in real terms from the 2010-11 financial year. This is as a result of the decrease in real terms in both subprogramme allocations. The greater portion of these programmes' budget has been allocated to the Mine Health and Safety subprogramme, which is responsible for inspections, audits, monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Mine Health and Safety Act.
As a committee we will strengthen our oversight machinery in this regard to ensure mining adheres to one of the four strategic objectives of decent work, and that is social protection. As a committee we are also worried about the small amount of the budget that the department has been given, but we know that the Minister, as she has shown and proved, will guide this department to be the shining light in Africa and the world.
As the Minister, the Deputy Minister and her department have shown us, they are aggressively searching for solutions to turn the current situation in mining around and drive the South African economy out of the current slump.
The Minister has shown us that developing countries cannot afford to wait for the solutions being sought by the so-called most powerful economies, but have to find their own solutions that are adapted to address their specific challenges.
Nonetheless, the industry is continually adapting to changing local and international world conditions and remains a cornerstone of the economy. It makes a significant contribution to economic activity, job creation and foreign exchange earnings.
Chairperson, allow me to conclude by reiterating the fact that major companies are increasingly moving their primary listings to international markets as part of globalisation, which takes many forms, from the direct acquisition of mining companies to partnerships with smaller exploration companies.
The mining industry is continually expanding and adapting to changing world conditions that influence demand for its products. It has experienced great challenges and changes recently.
The change strategies adopted by the industry over the past years have produced a significant improvement in its competitiveness. With better structured companies, a more robust operating and financial base and some of the world's most significant ore reserves, it will continue to be an important player in the global mining industry.
Chairperson, I wish to draw from Dr Martin Luther King Jr's articulations, and I quote:
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Hon Minister, you really are standing firm in this time of challenges. You have steered a ship; you have steered the industry.
Thank you for your open-door policy. This committee supports the Budget Vote and we will ensure that we work hard and lobby to have the Vote, the money, increased. Thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister and members, in the same Budget Vote last year, I said the mining industry contributed US$21 billion or 7% to the South African gross domestic product, GDP; with the recession it has shrunk by 32%. Now the direct contribution is down to about 5%.
The two main functions of the Department of Mineral Resources, DMR, are to create a conducive and enabling environment for investment and a stable regulatory environment to secure investments in South Africa.
According to The Economist, South Africa is not one of the seven African countries forecast to be among the 10 fastest growing economies in the next five years. There are, however, countries such as Nigeria, Ethiopia and Mozambique which will be amongst those 10 countries.
The continent is on the brink of a take-off - just like China was 30 years ago - but South Africa is not part of this growth opportunity. What role does the Department of Mineral Resources play in the economic growth potential in Africa or the national growth plan?
Foreign investment is required to create jobs, but there is a bug in the strategy and that is the continual call for nationalisation. In fact, a task team has been appointed to investigate nationalisation. The Minister keeps saying that there is no policy on nationalisation. Yet, there are crazy statements being made and this adversely affects foreign investment and job creation.
I wish to remind the Minister of the demise of the state-owned mine, Alexkor. The company reported a net profit of R36 million in the 2010 financial year, compared to a loss of R65,7 million in the 2009 financial year. However, the net profit was primarily due to a positive adjustment in the postretirement medical aid liability amounting to R45,1 million.
Now a newly created state mining company, the African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation, AEMF, is being funded from public funds and these funds will be at risk. The state's track record is extremely poor in running mining and other state-owned enterprises, SOEs. The department indicated that the AEMF is to secure uranium and coal for energy security, but why can't the private sector do this?
The other day at a Joint Sitting in Parliament when we were being addressed by a Chinese leader, it was clear that the Chinese state-owned entities are all listed on the Chinese Stock Exchange or the international markets. We must follow the other Brics countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India and China, and list the state mining companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Once the state mining companies are independent of the state, only then can the Department of Mineral Resources fulfil its function as a regulatory body without bias. The state cannot be the player and the referee. Perhaps one must be careful when using the word "bias" because if one looks at the court cases one cannot but wonder if the department is acting independently as a regulatory body.
We recall the court action between Kumba and Imperial Crown Trading with Duduzane Zuma; John Block of SA Salt with a forged 'n mining licence versus Saamwerk; Khulubuse Zuma and his fellow Aurora directors, Michael Hulley and Zondwa Mandela, who were booted out of the Grootvlei and Orkney mines, last week, which they got in the.. [Interjections.]
These are facts.
Dis 'n skande! [It's a disgrace!]
Hon member, may I just make a plea: Let us be very careful of our utterances. The matter is sub judice and you have no right to talk about it, so I will ask you to withdraw. It's sub judice.
Which one?
Continue.
This kind of beneficiation at the top end of the market for the politically connected elite should be called ...
Hon Van Lingen, just hold on.
Deputy Chairperson, I just want to enquire: What matter are you referring to as being sub judice?
The person on the floor debating right now knows exactly what I'm referring to.
[Inaudible.]
Thank you, you can take your seat, hon Sinclair. Hon Van Lingen, withdraw what you have said.
Chair, I withdraw what I've said. This kind of beneficiation at the top end of the market for the politically connected elite is what should be called enrichment fronting and not black empowerment. The target for black ownership is 26% by 2014. Why does the department enrich the elite structure in terms of individual ownership when we can increase this percentage to empower workers through employee stock ownership plans, Esops?
Growth in the mineral sector is encouraging. The export capacity for Saldanha Bay Harbour, which was increased from 47 million tons of iron ore to 60 million, is a step in the right direction with the new facilities.
The manganese mine development in the Kalahari Basin will enable the top three mines to deliver 6,6 million tons this year. The feasibility of this project is dependent on the rail capacity to Saldanha Bay and Port Elizabeth. Transnet has agreed to increase the capacity from the current 5 million tons to 12 million tons.
Hon member, unfortunately your time is over.
Chairperson, can I in conclusion ...
Hon member, your time is over.
Chairperson, hon Minister Shabangu and other Ministers present, Deputy Ministers, Chairperson of the Select Committee on Economic Development, other chairpersons and Whips, hon members, leaders of the trade union movement, leaders of the business community, comrades and friends, allow me to join the nation in paying tribute to the fallen mother of our nation, Mama Albertina Nontsikelelo Sisulu, who has gone to join other esteemed leaders of our revolution. We shall be eternally grateful and indebted to her for her warm, motherly embrace and guidance that shaped and touched all of us. Long live her undying spirit.
Last week I had the honour of delivering my maiden Budget Vote speech as the Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources. Today, as I stand in front of the NCOP, I am humbled that I have the privilege to do the same before this august House, which is charged with the responsibility of oversight for our provinces.
As experts would say, the real delivery by any government department happens at the local or provincial level. In the case of the Department of Minerals Resources, the delivery or lack thereof takes place at the provincial level. Mining assets do not exist in a vacuum.
Therefore, the conducting of mining activities has direct implications for the communities in those provinces - be it Mogalakwena community in Limpopo; the Bakgatlha ba Kgafela, Batlhaping ba ga Maidi and Batlhaping b ga Phuduhutswana in the North West; the Mkhwanazi community in KwaZulu- Natal; or the Prieska, Schmidtsdrift, or Namaqualand communities in the Northern Cape, to mention but a few.
These are some of the communities that we have specifically to answer to as the department, as well as to the nation in general as the regulator of this sector.
It has been a mere seven months since I was deployed by the President and our movement, the ANC, to this critically important portfolio in the Department of Mineral Resources. I would, therefore, once again like to express my gratitude to these two great institutions for having confidence in my ability to discharge these responsibilities.
Let me also take this opportunity, once more, to thank the Minister, Susan Shabangu, for her leadership and guidance.
The director-general of the department, Adv Sandile Nogxina, has served the department with distinction and has proved a solid anchor when storms tried to assail this ship. As we bid him farewell at the end of the month, we would like to express our sincere gratitude. Thank you, Tshawe, Mdengeentonga.
It would be remiss of me not to welcome, once more, two comrades, Duma Nkosi and Mandla Rasmeni, to the offices of the director-general and Deputy Minister respectively.
These two servants of the people were right here in Parliament during the period of the drafting of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, MPRDA, and will continue to serve as a nexus between the legislature, the executive and the department.
This month of June is pivotal in the history of our young democracy. The sacrifice of the young men and women should make us reflect on how far we have gone in implementing the vision of the Freedom Charter. At this point I would like to recognise, in this House, one of those young people who were at the forefront of the 16 June revolution that changed the course of history forever - hon member Dan Montsitsi. [Applause.]
The sacrifice of these young people is perhaps best captured in Nikolai Ostrovsky's How the Steel Was Tempered, and I quote:
Man's dearest possession is life. It is given to him but once, and he must live it so as to feel no torturing regrets for wasted years, never know the burning shame of a mean and petty past; so live that, dying, he might say: all my life, all my strength were given to the finest cause in all the world - the fight for the liberation of mankind.
The mining industry has a duty to ensure that we do not fail young people. We must ensure that the 1,5 million children starting Grade 1 this year finish Grade 12 without disappearing from the system.
We know that a sizable number of those who walk the streets looking for work are youths between the ages of 16 years and 35 years. History will indeed judge us harshly if we do not do our utmost to honour the youth by providing them with opportunities for decent work.
In the recent history of this young nation, this month will also go down as a true test of the spirit and fortitude of South Africa. Not only did we host the best Soccer World Cup a mere 12 months ago, but we also confounded Afro-pessimists who wished the worst on us and we came through with flying colours.
Let the same unity of spirit of the Freedom Charter of June 1955, the uprising of June 16 1976 and the June 2010 World Cup continue to inspire us as we tackle the challenges that confront us as a society.
In a few weeks' time we will also be celebrating the 93rd birthday of our international icon, President Nelson Mandela, who, very much like president Oliver Tambo, is the unifier of the nation and the organiser of victory.
President Mandela, himself a former mineworker, was in fact elected in 1989 as the honorary life president of the National Union of Mineworkers, NUM, and I believe that there is no better tribute we can pay to him than to get mineworkers and mine owners to work together to improve the living conditions of people in the industry. We salute you Madiba, Sthwalandwe. Seaparankoe. [Applause.]
To this end, Parliament resolved in 2007 - and I keep on repeating this so that it can be implemented - that the living conditions of mineworkers be investigated and improved; to support the initiatives by the NUM to build a workers' museum; and that this democratic Parliament should consider naming some of these buildings after J B Marks, the leader of the African Mineworkers' Union. We are called upon to see to the implementation of these resolutions.
The Minister has already outlined the budget that has been allocated to the department. After all, what are budgets in this instance but an expression of policy in numbers? The Minister's budget statement represents a programme of the ANC-led government to use the vast mineral resources of our country to contribute to the overall objective of lifting our people out of the grinding poverty and underdevelopment that still afflicts our society.
It is now accepted wisdom that one of the best ways to extricate people from the morass of poverty is education. To this end, I am happy to report that the Mining Qualifications Authority, MQA, is forging ahead with creating a skilled workforce. The MQA's mandate is to ensure that the mining and minerals sector has sufficient competent people who will improve health and safety, employment equity and increase the productive capacity of our mining industry.
There is no province where the MQA does not have a footprint with programmes that include learnerships, artisan skills programmes and adult education. All projects are focused on having a rural reach with a special emphasis on women and people with disabilities.
One of these projects includes giving training to 200 learners, including women, in all the provinces on small-scale mining. The MQA also placed 627 learners with 20 mining companies to gain work experience.
Going forward, the MQA plans to develop training to support the gemstone processing and jewellery manufacturing industries. This dovetails with the beneficiation strategy that the Minister has spoken about. The authority will continue with the programmes which, amongst other things, include developing management capacity within designated groups, workplace coaches or instructors and the HIV/Aids and TB prevention programme.
This is in line with an identified need for collaboration with the SA National Aids Council, Sanac. We should use this window of opportunity to tackle the scourge of HIV and Aids in the mining industry and compliment the mining industry where it has pioneered centres of excellence in fighting this scourge.
Let us, therefore, work together to ensure that this is sustainable beyond the confines of the mining environment, so that those infected and affected continue to receive treatment, perhaps in concert with the public health system once the worker leaves the mining industry.
Let me just touch on one thing as I go. Our country is well endowed with mineral deposits. I want to touch on but one issue - the diamond industry, because it started in this province called the Northern Cape many years ago; over 100 years ago.
As instructed by the President in his state of the nation address, it is our belief that we can use the possibilities offered by the diamond industry to meet the twin imperatives of job creation and economic growth. Areas that are known to have diamond deposits include the North West, the Free State, the Northern Cape and the Western Cape.
These areas have contributed to making South Africa a major diamond producer ranking sixth in the world in terms of volume - that is carats - and fourth in terms of value.
It is, however, worrying that we remain a small player in the downstream sector of the diamond value chain, with a disproportionately small and underdeveloped beneficiation industry. The development of the beneficiation industry holds immense potential to stimulate further economic activities and to create thousands of new jobs.
It is precisely for this reason that we have, through consultations with the diamond producers - under the banner of the diamond task team of the Chamber of Mines, the State Diamond Trader, the SA Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator, the United Diamond Association of SA and others - sought to gain a better understanding of the factors that have constrained the sustainable development of our country's diamond beneficiation industry.
The findings of our consultative engagements have revealed that there are four broad categories of challenges that need to be addressed systematically in order to reposition and revitalise our downstream diamond beneficiation industry for sustainable growth and development.
If time permits, I shall come back to the details of the four identified constraints, which are: a lack of access to finance, a shortage of skills, a lack of access to markets and a lack of security of supply. Those are the ones that I shall return to, if time permits.
With regard to health and safety, the safety record in the South African mining industry continues to be a matter of great concern to the department, although the mining industry has in the last year managed to record a year-on-year reduction in fatalities due to mine accidents.
This year alone, 53 fatalities have been recorded against 49 for the same period last year. As things stand, it looks like the improvement which saw 127 fatalities in 2010 against 168 the previous year will be negated. This is unacceptable and we shall continue to engage the mining industry to do its utmost to ensure that no miner loses their life.
These accidents are avoidable. Fall of ground, FOG, accidents still remain the largest accident category and the predominant cause of fatalities, followed by transportation and machinery categories, respectively. Occupational health impacts are not immediate and hence difficult to quantify. Silicosis, to give an example, remains a major cause of premature retirement and death at South African mines due to excessive dust exposure.
Also, TB continues to be a serious challenge for the mining industry and this is exacerbated by the HIV/Aids pandemic. Noise-induced hearing loss is also a significant health hazard due to exposure to high levels of noise in the workplace.
An underground fire was detected at Harmony Gold's Phakisa Mine in the Free State and two proto teams were sent down to investigate. An explosion took place, resulting in three members of the proto teams being fatally injured. Another two members subsequently died from their injuries.
During May 2010, a FOG accident killed three mineworkers at Simmer and Jack, Shaft 5 in the Stilfontein vicinity. Another massive FOG was responsible for the demise of five mineworkers at Aquarius's Marikana Mine close to Rustenburg. There are two regions that succeeded in having a fatality-free year, namely the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape. Two other regions managed to maintain the same number of fatalities, namely the Northern Cape and the Free State. The Free State had an increase in fatality rates of 17,4% while the Northern Cape had a reduction in fatalities of 1,3%.
While there has been an overall improvement of 8%, this trend is negated in Limpopo, which has shown a marked increase in injuries. This is partly due to ... I can hear the bell ringing; let me conclude. [Laughter.]
In closing, I would like to quote Franz Kafka who honoured the youth by saying:
Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.
Finally, I want to thank the staff in the department and the Ministry, as well as my family for the continued support. Together, indeed, we can do more. Thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources, hon Members of Parliament, the 1955 Freedom Charter states that -
The people shall share in the country's wealth.
An ANC government shall restore the wealth of our country, the heritage of all South Africans, to the people as a whole. The Freedom Charter foes on to say:
The mineral wealth beneath the soil, the banks and the monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole.
The 1969 ANC Morogoro Consultative Conference agreed with the wisdom of the Freedom Charter, stating that -
At the moment, there are vast monopolies whose existence affects the livelihood of large numbers of our people and whose ownership is in the hands of Europeans only. It is necessary for monopolies which vitally affect the wellbeing of our people, such as the mines, the sugar and wine industry, to be transferred to public ownership so that they can be used to uplift the life of all the people.
The point of this reference is to demonstrate that the inequities in our society have long been identified as curable only through dealing with the imbalances. Socioeconomic inequalities that bedevil our beloved country are not products of imbalances in the sociopolitical rights; they are not a product of some idealistic notion of bad faith or deficient political will.
The truth of the matter is that the majority of South Africans are trapped in the quagmire of poverty because of lopsided production relations in this country: Few people own the means of production whilst many relate to production if and when selling their own labour at a cost determined by the owners of the means of production.
May I remind the hon members that our Constitution not only enjoins us to heal the divisions of the past, but also renders peremptory the achievement of equality. Equality is not only about inherent human dignity and the entrenched right not to be unfairly discriminated against. Equality is mainly about equal access not only to opportunities but to resources. Such equality has to be based on positive discrimination to ensure that the ownership of the means of production in general and mines in particular rests with the majority of our people.
Modulasetulo, maikemi?et?o a mmu?o wa kgatelelo e be e le go amoga motho botho, naga ya gabo le maatla a taolo dilong t?eo e lego t?a gabo le go mo t?eela naga le diminerale gore a phele ka bodiidi. Maikemi?et?o e be e le gore motho moso a hloke mo?omo le bokgoni bja go tsena mo?omong le gore motho wa go se kgone go itirela a se ikhumanele bophelo bjo botse. Godimo ga mo, mokgwa wo o be o dira gore motho yo a ?omago a ?omi?e t?helete ye nt?i go fihla mo?omong wa gagwe. Mohlala, batho ba be ba lahlet?we kgole le toropo moo le pula e sa nego.
Dimaene e be ele t?ona dikokwane t?a ekonomi ya Afrika-Borwa, ebile e sa le t?ona dikokwane t?a ekonomi. Efela bothata ke gore diminerale ka bophara di romelwa ka ntle ga naga go fetolwa gore e be di?omi?wa, gomme se se hlola me?omo bathong ba dinaga t?e dingwe. Batho baso ga se ba hlwe ba humana puno ya diminerale t?a dinaga t?a gabobona, kudu bao ba dulago dinagamagae moo diminerale di t?wago gona. Re ile Ga-Sekhukhune gomme re di bone. Batho ga ba ?ome gomme maphelo a bona a maemong a fase kudu. Ka lebaka la le?ata, phi?o le lerole, go t?wa kotsi go maemong a godimo kudu me?omong. Madulo a ba?omi a maemong ao a hlobaet?ago. Ka lebaka la gore lehumo le laolwa kudu ke banna ba mohlobo o tee, go a thatafala go bao ba lekago go tsena mo?omong la mathomo ka ge bao ba tsenego pele ba le maemong a godimodimo.
Le ge go le bjalo, selo se tee seo se sa fetogego ke phetogo ka boyona. Re t?eere sephetho sa gore go gola ga ekonomi go swanet?e go t?ee lemanoga le leswa. Se se ra gore batho ba re ilego ra ba etela, go swana le ba profense ya Limpopo, ba ka kgona go holega ba t?wa ka gare ga bodiidi. Ge ba t?wele ka gare ga bodiidi, ba ka se sa loma ke dit?hit?hidi t?a go hlola ke tlala.
Ba Kgoro ya Methopo ya Diminerale ba swanet?e go tii?a letsogo go bona gore diphetogo di ba gona - kudu t?a taolo ya moruo - kgahlanong le taolo ka mmala gore batho ka moka ba kgone go tsena taolong ya dimaene. Go swanet?e go kwagale gore taolo ya sehlophana se it?ego seo se sa akaret?ego batho ka moka, e swanet?e go akaret?a phatlalat?o ya mahumo bathong ka moka. (Translation of Sepedi paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, the aim of the apartheid government was to take away a person's humanity, his country, the minerals and control over his resources so that he lived in poverty. It aimed at making it impossible for an African man to get a job and skills that are needed in the work environment and also to make life difficult for him. Those who were employed were made to spend a lot of money to get to their work. For example, people were placed far from the town, where the land is dry.
The mines were the wellsprings of the South African economy and they are still the wellsprings of the economy even today. The minerals are exported to other countries where they are turned into products and this creates jobs for people in those countries. Black people have not yet benefited from the local minerals, especially the people from rural areas where these minerals are mined. We went to Ga-Sekhukhune and we saw that. People are not employed and as a result their standard of living is low. The lives of those who are employed are also at risk because of the level of noise, heat and dust. The homes of employees are also in a very bad condition because the wealth is controlled by one racial group. It is very difficult for people who are entering the work environment for the first time because experienced employees are occupying senior positions.
Things are going to change. We have decided that there has to be a change in economic growth. This means that the people we visited, like those in Limpopo, can get out of poverty. That way they can live a comfortable life.
The Department of Mineral Resources has to advance transformation - especially in the management of the economy - across the colour line so that all the people become involved in the management of the mines. The minority group that is managing the economy has to disseminate the wealth to all the people.]
We therefore commend the department for the successful launch of the state- owned mining company. We are convinced that the state-owned mining company will, inter alia, increase national income from the mining and minerals sector; advance and deepen broad-based transformation of the mining and minerals sector; advance job creation; change community development projects for poverty alleviation and rural development; invest in beneficiation and mineral-based industrialisation and ensure competitive pricing of inputs downstream; ensure value addition in manufacturing; and improve working conditions for mineworkers at all income levels.
It is common cause that our labour market does not produce enough skills required by the mining industry and therefore we need to rally all stakeholders behind what the Mining Charter provides for. The charter indicates that the skills deficit has to be addressed, inter alia, by interfacing with educational authorities and providing scholarships to promote mining-related educational advancement.
This would be especially the case in the fields of mathematics and science at the school level and will ensure that provision of scholarships and the number of registered learnerships in the mining industry increase.
The department needs to make sure that, as per their commitment, South African subsidiaries of multinational companies and South African companies, where possible, will focus their overseas placement and/or training programmes on historically disadvantaged South Africans; that a talent pool will be identified and fast-tracked; and that higher levels of inclusiveness and advancement of women will be ensured.
The establishment of measures to improve the standard of housing - including the upgrading of hostels, conversion of hostels to family units and the promotion of homeownership options for mine employees - and the establishment of measures to improve the nutrition of mine employees should be fast-tracked.
The department should make sure that stakeholders give historically disadvantaged South Africans a preferred supplier status, where possible, in capital goods, services and consumables.
In conclusion, South Africa is one of the world's richest countries in terms of minerals. Up to now, however, this enormous wealth has only been used to benefit a tiny white minority. Our principal objective is to transform mining and mineral-processing industries to serve all our people. We can achieve this goal through a variety of government interventions, incentives and disincentives.
The mining industry played no small role in the present structural inequalities and exclusions that we inherited from our unfortunate history. We have an economy characterised by a systemic exclusion of blacks from ownership of the means of production and thus from the ability to accumulate wealth; the concentration of resources and wealth in the hands of a minority, ensuring that blacks become the mere purveyors of cheap labour; and the relegation of rural areas into reservoirs of cheap labour, with the resultant underdevelopment.
It is this history that informs and necessitates the reform of the mining industry as led by our developmental state through the Department of Mineral Resources. We are convinced the department is on the right track in the transformation of the mining sector and we thus support the budget that will enable such transformation. Thank you.
Chairperson, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, hon members, and all protocol observed, South Africa, like the rest of the African continent, has a rich history and heritage of natural resources.
Quite naturally, mining has always been and continues to be the backbone of our economy as it accounts for more than half of our exports. Yet we continue to find the poorest people working in the mining industry.
The department seems to be failing in its strategy, as disclosed in last year's Budget Vote, which was to seek further facilitation of economic diversification, expedite progress towards a knowledge-based economy and create decent and sustainable jobs.
Apart from this, the safety and health hazards with regard to mineworkers remain a concern, as does the impact that mine drainage is having on the general state of the environment. The department is yet to rise to the challenge of the greenification of the mining sector.
Despite last year's prioritisation of the rehabilitation of derelict and ownerless mines in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the North West and the Northern Cape, little has been achieved, especially since the people living in these areas who slave away in the mines have nothing to show for it.
Yes, licences were allocated to previously disadvantaged people, but the government has failed to provide appropriate funding, training and development workshops to get the desired output.
We agree that South Africa needs foreign investment and we acknowledge the importance thereof, but it should not be at the expense of our own people, as in the case of Postmasburg in the Northern Cape. Our people should be afforded the opportunity to be made shareholders in mining projects, since for many of them mining is a way of life. Currently, a group of shareholders in the Postmasburg area are receiving meagre monthly share payouts, which is clearly exploitation.
Chairperson, let me just say this: A state-owned Alexkor mine has just been closed down for the third time in six months because of health and safety reasons. It is a good thing for the Minister and the Deputy Minister to come and tell us the good things that they are planning to do, but let us go to the people on the ground and see if these things are happening. Let's go down to the ground level and see how the people are developing in this country. [Interjections.]
Chairperson, let me say this one thing. We speak on behalf of the people and quote the Freedom Charter - "The people shall share in the country's wealth" - and yet we in this House know that the people out there don't share in the wealth of this country. It is a few members of the elite who are sharing in the wealth of this country. Thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, I want to congratulate the Deputy Minister on his lecture rather than his first speech. I want to congratulate him not because he is a communist but because he is from the Northern Cape ... [Laughter.] ... and he will support the initiatives of our province.
The hon Minister has been involved in this department since 1996, and I think she must be the longest-serving Minister in various capacities. I think and believe that she has seen many things. However, hon Minister, the things that I am seeing in South Africa now I have not seen in all my political life, and it is called the "Malema phenomenon". [Laughter.] [Applause.]
The Malema phenomenon has a serious and dire impact, specifically with regard to this very important department. Now, if I can just break the surname "Malema" down, I will start with the letter M: The letter M is for mining and nationalisation.
Now Minister, you have weathered many storms in the interests of this country, but I have to put it on record today that the viewpoint of Mr Malema, the youth leader of the ANC, is destroying confidence in this country and is not an investment booster.
The second letter in "Malema" is the letter A and I want to put the word "acquisition" next to that, because your department is instrumental in many issues, in terms of mining rights and so on. We know the debacle with Imperial Crown Trading and what happened there. We recently had the case where your department in Kimberley was very instrumental in doing, apparently, the wrong things. The letter L is for localisation. Now, Deputy Minister specifically, I am very disappointed to say that apparently - well, not "apparently", as you have announced it - the State Diamond Trader is not going back to Kimberley where it is supposed to be. It is a disaster for the province and if we are really serious about localisation then that State Diamond Trader must be in Kimberley and not in Johannesburg.
The letter E in "Malema" is for "earth water" - and the Minister referred to shale gas. I am very happy about the task team, Minister. I was born and bred in the Karoo, and ask you to please look after the interests of one of the most pristine environments in the world. Linked to that is the debacle about acid water and we need political leadership on that, Minister.
Then the next letter M in "Malema" is the "madam". [Interjections.].
Hon member, you must not talk directly to the Minister or Deputy Minister. [Interjections.]
I will talk to you, Chair. The next letter M is for the word "madam". Now this Mr Malema has the audacity to call other hon members and leaders of the opposition parties "madams" and all sorts of other names. However, he is so unpredictable that yesterday, or over the weekend, he said that former President Mbeki is the best leader the ANC has ever produced. But two years ago he was instrumental in removing that same President! [Interjections.]
Hon member, you must speak to the relevant subject, please.
Chairperson, then the letter A of that Malema phenomenon that has got everything to do with mining in South Africa ... [Interjections.]
Hon member, you must talk about the relevant subject, please.
Yes, I am discussing mining and related matters today, Chairperson. The last issue is the issue about the apartheid-style antics that this Malema phenomenon discusses ... [Time expired.] [Interjections.]
Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, hon members, departmental officials, and the House at large, the strategic plan of the department recognises the importance of our resources sector in growing the state's future deracialised economic prosperity through increased business investment, regional development and opportunities for employment and skilling, balanced against key environmental and social objectives.
Generally, the exploration and mining sector requires predictable procedures for access to land, security of exploration and/or mining tenure and predictable regulatory processes, in order for it to commit to higher risk for investment in mineral resource exploration, new mine development and the life of mine operations.
However, under the watchful and visionary leadership of the ANC it cannot be tolerated that the country becomes a pollution heaven, as seems to have been the case during the previous regime. Ownerless and derelict mines are a result of poor environmental regulation by the then uncaring minority government. Thus the department has established the mineral regulation programme to curb environmentally harmful mining practices, among other things.
Hon Ministers, in my constituency, near Allenridge, there is a place called Stinkdam. In winter it is very dusty and the people staying around the area cannot cook and eat because white dust settles on their pots, beds and tables. People are coughing.
In summer, when it is wet, it stinks so much that the people say they get asthma. That was the work of Anglo-Vaal in those days. There were no regulations that forced them to rehabilitate the land. This brings me to the issue of prospecting for oil in the Karoo. I agree with hon Sinclair and I think it is a good decision that the Minister has put together a task team to further investigate whether the technique used does not ultimately result in permanent environmental degradation, or, most important, constitute a hazard to communities in the area and the country at large.
In such cases the department must recognise that community confidence will only be gained where industry and the community work together co- operatively, openly and in good faith to develop and achieve mutually acceptable outcomes that are strictly enforced by government.
Perhaps as the country tries to attract investment in this sector, we should also consider, without causing what economists call a "regulatory chill", that exploration and mining companies - like they do in Australia - may need to obtain from the community what we call a social licence to operate, as part of establishing long-term working relations with all stakeholders.
The mineral policy seeks to develop new policy, review the existing policies and amend legislation to promote investment growth and achieve transformation in the minerals and mining industry.
According to Mr C Oman of Ghana, in his paper entitled, "Policy Competition for Foreign Direct Investment: A Study of Competition among Governments to Attract FDI", competition between governments to attract corporate investments appears to have heated up in the recent years.
He says that the reasons postulated for this include -
... large numbers of developing countries that have moved from closed to market-friendly economies in the 80s and 90s; the fact that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, governments have also moved to more deregulated and liberalised economies and are seeking to attract more investments; the increased mobility of capital; and reduction in barriers for international investments.
South Africa, being endowed with vast mineral reserves, has not escaped this competition, as is particularly evident in the mineral sector. He further points out that the debt crisis combined with deterioration in developing countries' terms of trade has led to a global movement away from state control of the mineral sector which began in the late 70s and gained momentum in the late 80s and 90s.
Thus, at the turn of the millennium, international investors faced an increasing number and variety of geologically interesting countries with acceptable legal and fiscal frameworks. Consequently, countries have had to compete among one another to attract investment into their mineral sectors on a continuing basis.
Whilst the ANC-led government is grappling with the right policies that have to be put in place to attract direct investment, it should not be a race to the bottom in so far as the environment and the health of communities are concerned.
In addition, mineral policies must combine with broader economic reforms. The mining industry, because of its highly capital-intensive nature and the high level of risk inherent in the activity, has led to the establishment by large multinational companies of a particular, refined system of contractual guarantees for the protection of their investments - to the detriment of the indigenous people.
Small-scale mining faces challenges because mining is very capital- intensive in nature and is very skills-intensive. As such, small companies or small, medium and micro enterprises, SMMEs, in mining need skills and capital in order to survive and not be kept on the periphery of recycling dumps and mining dumps.
Illegal mining is still taking place in parts of the Free State and in Mpumalanga, especially around Barberton. The reason for this is that these places are easily accessible. It is especially easy to find gold in Barberton because of the Greenstone Belt. These people know exactly where to find gold. In order to survive, they link up with syndicates involving big businesspeople who buy their gold. As a result, this continues.
However, we are aware that the department is clamping down on them and it is evident because I met one of the shopkeepers in G-hostel. He has a shop and butchery there. During the time when there was clamp-down on illegal miners he said he could only make a quarter of what he was meant to make because those chancers were the key people who were buying the stock.
Looking at other issues, the hon Van Lingen stated that with regard to the GDP the mining sector has decreased from 7% to 5%; that is true. The reason is that the mining industry these days has been in decline from the 70s.
Its contribution to GDP is nothing compared to the retail industry and the financial sector, because these two sectors - financial and retail - are the fastest growing in South Africa. As a result, the contribution of mining will automatically decrease.
However, what is worrying - I used to be a miner myself at Anglo-American - is that it was a strategy of Anglo-American during the 70s that, by 2020, they should have extracted less than 20% of the mineral resources in South Africa; that was the mineral intelligence of the department by then. So they moved to Ghana - they went out of the country to other places - because minerals there, gold and such, are still found close to the surface.
They still pay the people there low wages; that is why it is cheaper for them to mine outside South Africa. This is because when you mine gold in South Africa, as you go deeper and deeper the temperature increases due to the geothermal gradient, and so it becomes much more expensive to mine.
Due to the policies that have been put in place, South Africa is not on the top 10 list of fast-developing countries in Africa because the investors look to see where they can get their returns immediately.
South Africa was pollution heaven so those companies polluted those areas and did not rehabilitate. Now, as the country develops, mining becomes expensive because a developed country makes sure that people benefit from the mining sector.
Thank you, Chairperson. I think now that hon Gunda has joined the DA, he can sing his neocapitalist policies. That is all I can say. [Time expired.]
I just want to thank you, Chairperson, for supporting our budget and for the working relationship we had with you. You have steered this House and the select committee in a direction that enables people to understand better.
However, I must also indicate that there are those who refuse to be educated. Hon Gunda is one of them. May I say something, hon Gunda? The Deputy Minister offers free workshops for you to understand the mining industry. I suggest it is the Deputy Minister's task to educate hon Gunda as he doesn't understand this sector.
Just on the issue of Alexkor, hon Van Lingen, let me once again mention that we are not responsible for Alexkor. Alexkor falls under the Department of Public Enterprises. I don't know why she always brings up its performance with my department. We are not responsible for it.
I must also indicate that the state-owned mining company that she talks about has not been and will not be funded with taxpayers' money. We will come and make a presentation so that members will understand from where the state-owned mining company derives its resources.
It has gone out to borrow from the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the Independent Development Corporation, like any other private company. That is the spirit we must promote in this country. If the state has to participate, it must compete with the rest of the participants or interested groups.
I don't know why you are making such a big fuss. You are not talking about America. When America's economy is in crisis - like it is at the moment - they nationalise but you don't talk about it. Ford has been nationalised, so why are you not referring to that?
The state has taken that debt and it is running it; basically it has funded Ford by 100%. Therefore we must not be biased. You must also understand our own objectives as a country.
With regard to the matter of Kumba, I want to concur with the Chairperson of the NCOP: That matter is sub judice; it has nothing to do with us. Let's allow the courts to do their work, then we can comment later.
To say that we are enriching ourselves is not fair, because a few have been enriched for many years and no one ever raised a finger or voice when those few were enriched. It was a few white men - not even a woman. [Interjections.] Yes, it was you yourselves.
I am raising this matter to say that in 17 years the number of black people who have access to this economy is greater than the few who controlled the economy for over a century in this country. I must also indicate that you start somewhere, you move. We have Ernest Oppenheimer and his family with De Beers, a huge company started by their great-grandfather.
Now where should these black people go - who were blocked by your laws and could not participate in the economy - when we create an opportunity for them to access the economy?
Now we talk about a small black elite and it is so unfair. Let us give people an opportunity and a chance to develop and ensure that they can be empowered and ensure that their families become better.
I also want to indicate that our policies are clear; we are also engaging communities. With regard to the SOEs, you must call us so that we can tell you which companies have employee participation. You must call us so that we can tell you about the communities who are benefiting. We will give you that information because we monitor that on an annual basis. We have a charter precisely to ensure that we can monitor the companies.
Recently I indicated that the President had gone to Anglo Platinum and launched a scheme where there is community participation and whereby the community owns a stake - equity. In a true sense, no money came from any bank. What we are talking about is progress.
But in any case, those who are prepared to see will use their eyes to see and as for those who decide to be blind, we can do nothing about that. Let them sit in the darkness as we make progress in this country.
Hon Sinclair, regarding the issue of Julius, I am not going to enter into that debate. All of us here have the responsibility to carry out government policy across the board. We must be the ambassadors of this country. We must not be prophets of doom. All of us know that in this Parliament, this House and the National Assembly at no stage was a nationalisation policy adopted. So I don't know why we are also singing a song which has never been endorsed by this government.
If you are part of the government, you are part of this country. It means that you are part of those who don't wish this country success when you continue embracing what is not in government policy. This is all because of what Julius said, yet it is not the government's policy.
Hon Sinclair, I like the way you have decided to break down Julius's surname. I would really appreciate it if you could send that to him so that he can understand your point of view and how you tried to interpret his surname. [Laughter.] As we stand here, we will always ensure that you understand.
Hon Dikgale, you understand our policies quite well. This is a process, it is not an event or a rally, or a once-off where you go home and say that it was good and nice. It is a process of transformation; that is why it has never been easy. It is painful and it needs all of us to work together.
As we are sitting here today in the month of June and having this debate, we have many important activities. On 26 June 1955, the Freedom Charter was adopted. On the basis of that, we are talking about the mining sector. Thank you, hon Deputy Chairperson. [Applause.]
I thank the Minister, Deputy Minister and everybody who took part in this debate.
Debate concluded.