People's Assembly

2022-w3224 - 30 September 2022

Vuyani Pambo to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

(a) Who is responsible for the enforcement of the mandatory Code of Practice for Mine Residue Deposits at a mine, with particular reference to the monitoring, maintenance, risk assessment and disaster prevention and recovery for tailings dams and (b) with reference to the Jagersfontein dam, what work had been done to monitor the maintenance of the dam to minimise disasters such as the one that happened at the Jagersfontein mine in Free State on 11 September 2022?

Reply from the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy on 30 Sep 2022

a) The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, is responsible for the enforcement of the respective legal provisions in the mining sector.

b) The court in the De Beers judgment over Jagersfontein mine residue deposits (De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd v Ataqua Mining (Pty) Ltd & others, case no. 3215/06, Free State Provincial Division, 13 December 2007) held that historical mine residue ...

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2022-w2850 - 30 September 2022

Narend Singh to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

In light of the fact that Eskom customer services offices are closed nationally since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, on what date is it envisaged that the (a) offices will reopen to the public and (b) operational issues and services are improved, namely reporting structures such as Alfred Chat bot and email that do not generate valid reference numbers and timeous responses?

Reply from the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy on 30 Sep 2022

The matter is not within the mandate of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy as it is an operational matter which should be responded to by the Department of Public Enterprises.

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2022-w2851 - 30 September 2022

Narend Singh to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

(1) How is Eskom working with provincial governments to solve the energy supplied to pensioners, indigent and unemployed residents to be converted from conventional to prepaid electricity; (2) whether his department, working with the provincial governments, has plans for residents with arrears and disconnections to be rehabilitated and provided with access to prepaid supply as a matter of urgency; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW3448E

Reply from the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy on 30 Sep 2022

The matter is not within the mandate of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy as it is an operational matter which should be responded to by the Department of Public Enterprises.

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2022-w2852 - 30 September 2022

Narend Singh to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

(1) How is the Government taking care of the vulnerable people in financial difficulties in accessing electricity; (2) whether the Government intends to take steps to prioritise the roll out subsidised prepaid meters for Eskom-direct customers; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply from the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy on 30 Sep 2022

The matter is not within the mandate of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy as it is an operational matter which should be responded to by the Department of Public Enterprises.

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2022-w2633 - 30 September 2022

Kevin John Mileham to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

With reference to one of the interventions announced by the President of the Republic, Mr M C Ramaphosa, in his Energy Response Plan, which is the assistance that would be given to 80 projects that represent over 6 000MW of new generation capacity, to obtain the remaining approvals as quickly as possible, (a) what number of the projects have been assisted to obtain the requisite approvals to date and (b) by what date is the Government expecting to have all the 80 projects approved?

Reply from the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy on 30 Sep 2022

The 80 projects being referred to are developed by private parties and the DMRE has no visibility on the progress. Since the lifting of the licensing threshold, many people seem to be developing energy projects and have no obligation to apprise the department. NERSA has registered projects totalling 688 MW to date.

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2022-w2450 - 16 September 2022

Thandiswa Linnen Marawu to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

Whether the Republic still has highly rich uranium which has neither been downgraded nor sent to the United States of America for safekeeping; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply from the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy on 16 Sep 2022

Yes, the Republic still has Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) stored safely at the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation SOC Limited (Necsa), which has neither been downgraded nor sent to USA for safekeeping. The material is highly secured and under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards. The IAEA continuously monitors the stored material using their Remote Monitoring System (RMS) connected 24hrs to IAEA Headquarters ...

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2022-w2872 - 09 September 2022

Thokozani Makhosonke Langa to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

Which steps have been taken to ensure that mining companies, such as Tronox in Empangeni, also consider local persons for senior mining positions?

Reply from the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy on 9 Sep 2022

Mining legislative framework and policies amongst others requires that mining companies must have 60% of Historically Disadvantaged Persons (HDP’s) and 25% women representatives on Senior Management Level in order to redress the imbalances of the past.
The law does not categorise the Historically Disadvantaged South Africans in terms of their local place of origin within South Africa in as far as Employment Equity targets ...

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2022-w2870 - 09 September 2022

Makosini Chabangu to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

What are the details of the recent measures that has been put in place to deter illegal mining activities in the Republic?

Reply from the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy on 9 Sep 2022

Several operations have been conducted jointly by the South Africa Police Services with officials of the Department. The South African police service is to launch the Economic Infrastructure Task Team (EITT), whose primary objective is to address the scourge of crimes within the non-ferrous metals, essential infrastructure, critical infrastructure, extortion, and illegal mining environments due to the negative impact these crimes have on ...

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2022-w2634 - 06 September 2022

Kevin John Mileham to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

In view of the fact that in delivering his Energy Response Plan, the President of the Republic, Mr M C Ramaphosa, announced that the registration process of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa has been simplified, including the removal of the requirement of a Power Purchase Agreement, on what date will this provision be gazetted?

Reply from the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy on 6 Sep 2022

This has been affected already, there’s no need for gazetting.

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2022-w2674 - 06 September 2022

Eleanore Rochelle Jacquelene Spies to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

(1) On what date did he last attend a meeting outside the structures of the Government to determine the deployment of personnel in public sector positions; (2) whether any appointments to public sector positions were discussed and determined during his appearance at any forum that is private and external to the structures of the Government; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what (a) are the details on which appointments were discussed and (b) other government matters were discussed during his last meeting at any such forum?

Reply from the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy on 6 Sep 2022

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