Mr Speaker, I must place on record my disappointment in Minister Shabangu for not attending this debate. Our colleagues were speaking earlier about decorum in this House - how we need to preserve it.
I don't believe decorum in this House flows from whether we shout or not, or even whether we make frivolous motions or not. It stems from whether or not the government takes Parliament seriously enough by coming here when we are debating issues of national importance, to engage and to interact with Members of Parliament.
Nevertheless, the human cost of the Marikana tragedy and the continuing collapse of South Africa's mining industry are almost impossible to put into words. At Lonmin mine 44 people were killed and 78 wounded. This amounts to 128 families affected, 44 that no longer have fathers, uncles, brothers and sons. This means that 528 family members may permanently lose a source of income because of death, and a further 936 are vulnerable because of the ill health of the breadwinner. In the aftermath, 15 000 miners have been fired following wildcat strikes at a series of other mines. This has left 180 000 people vulnerable, again, without access to an income.
Marikana represented a failure of leadership on a massive scale - from the President all the way downwards. And we have to be honest with ourselves: this Parliament failed as well. The truth is that the tragedy at the Lonmin mine exposed far more than its proximate cause of union unrest. It also revealed the raw tissues of a broken society.
Ours is a President, after all, who craftily announces that his Cabinet's salaries will be temporarily frozen in response to the current crisis, and yet refuses to halt the R250-million upgrade of his private home. This is the time to speak the truth boldly and plainly, Mr Speaker. Our President's lack of moral urgency is a blot on the conscience of South Africa.
The Marikana tragedy was not, as some have suggested, just a random event. It forms part of a larger story of human loss. Adcorp has forecast that 200 000 jobs will be lost in the mining sector over the next decade. Two hundred thousand jobs! This will leave just under 2,5 million people vulnerable to life without access to an income. This doesn't even take into account the loss of dignity which accompanies being without work.
Since 1986, employment in the mining sector has declined by almost 38%, from just under 840 000 workers to just over half a million over a period when production has flat-lined. In a negative domino effect, the recent strike-related revenue losses have reached R3,3 billion. This equates to lost tax revenue of over R1,1 billion.
The DA acknowledges that there are no easy policy solutions. We will support this government if it sincerely seeks to address the deep human underlying issues and, at the same time, adopts measures to increase productivity.
In framing a new vision for the mining industry, the President and his government must recognise the need for a structural shift. We believe that the most urgent intervention must be to review all legislation that underpins the system of oscillating migration in the mining sector. Simply put: we need to introduce a more humane system of labour to help rebuild families and communities. We need to ensure that cash remittances get back to the many families in need in rural South Africa. And we must mitigate health risks amongst mine workers, especially HIV and Aids infections.
For too long public policy has been disjointed. Today we call for the immediate establishment of an ad hoc parliamentary committee to find solutions to address the problems which ail South Africa's mining industry. Unless we find solutions to these industry challenges, we can't raise work participation and reduce absenteeism, and we cannot make mining a more attractive industry in which people want to work and investors want to invest.
So, with the fierce urgency of now, we must fix the migrant labour system. We must establish a capable state with appropriate infrastructure, and we must build a shared national platform around social solidarity with fair work and fair pay for everyone. Thank you. [Applause.]