Mr Speaker and hon members, the labour unrest in Marikana that has now spread throughout the mining sector is simply compounding concerns that South Africa is a lawless country.
Mining plays an important role in the South African economy. For instance, last year it accounted for approximately 10% of the gross domestic product, GDP. The platinum and gold-mining sectors alone employ more than 300 000 people. Apart from the job-creating labour-intensive nature of mining- sector operations, gold and other minerals are by far the largest single source of foreign exchange.
These factors place the mining sector at the centre of our economic heartbeat. If the mining sector fails to perform at optimum levels, South Africa fails with it. Therefore, the labour unrest in the mining sector and the resultant production stoppages cause untold damage to the South African economy.
Furthermore, the labour unrest in the mining sector laid bare the superficial nature of transformation in the industry. It is now clear that the black economic empowerment beneficiaries in the mining sector only serve as government liaison officers. In addition to the superficial BEE deals, the ripple effect of the Lonmin Mine wage settlement will go beyond the mining sector, as the Marikana crisis exposed frustrations over poverty and the danger of inequality in South Africa.
Whilst we have already seen the first-round effects of the mining unrest in the form of downgrades, it will take us years to quantify the untold damage this has caused to investor confidence in South Africa. I thank you.