Including you, hon members, as well. [Interjections.]
Cope would really like to know if there are any consequences for those, like the then deputy director-general for the regulation of mineral resources, who blatantly subvert the legal order and bring the state into such disrepute. Is the department still determined to appoint cadres to top positions who seek to enrich themselves and their political allies, leaving chaos in their wake? [Interjections.] Minister ... [Interjections.] You wish! Minister, substantial improvements in the quality and integrity of mining licence applications are a positive start. Stringent monitoring must be a two-way process. It must put the spotlight on mining companies and on government officials. If corruption is internalised, the whole process of monitoring is corrupted.
The Broad-Based Socioeconomic Empowerment charter for the South African mining industry must work in the direct interest of communities and must be aimed at skills development and entrepreneurship promotion.
The rehabilitation of the mine should be an ongoing process during the entire life of a mine, and not something that is contemplated near its end.
Export parity pricing is another matter of the utmost importance. The communities around our mines should be able to set up businesses to beneficiate the minerals and ore in close proximity to the mines. Prices for such enterprises would have to be cheaper than for importers elsewhere, considering that transport, storage, insurance and other costs were not incurred.
The pricing of minerals and ore to communities nearer mines should receive the highest priority so that people can have a real stake in the mining that is taking place in their midst. A gold mining area without a thriving jewellery manufacturing satellite is like a vineyard without wine cellars, or a cane field without a sugar mill. It is the same for iron mining and all other forms of mining. The product of an area, whether it is on or under the ground, should define the nature of its economy. After all, the beneficiation strategy for minerals adopted by Cabinet in 2011 seeks to add value to minerals to facilitate economic diversification and boost local value addition.
We agree that there is a plan, but on occasions such as this the Minister needs to commit to the implementation of the plans. After all, Parliament is making resources available, not for endless planning superimposed on more planning, but rather for fast and furious execution. That is what we want to see and, indeed, we in Cope would like to see that happening now.
I also wish to ascertain from the Minister whether the social and labour plans, as well as the programme for communities to access resource information, have been implemented and whether they have actively involved communities around the mines. If so, what can the hon Minister tell Parliament regarding this programme of the department?
The department has been running five pilot value chain projects. We in Cope believe that South Africans should be invited to create public companies to establish sizeable plants with adequate capital to make the pilot projects feasible enterprises capable of large-scale labour absorption.
The time has come for government to broaden its vision and include all South Africans, regardless of party affiliation, in becoming involved in such projects. The government must stop operating as a closed shop and stop seeking a slice of every national development for itself. Self- gratification must give way to national prerogatives for the common good. With 75 000 jobs lost in the first quarter of this year and nearly 4 million people, at least, without work, the situation is bleak. Therefore government's approach to growth and development must cease being self- centred and self-promoting. Opportunities must be thrown open.
In conclusion, on the question of nationalisation: Yes! Yes! [Laughter.] It is important that the Tripartite Alliance come to a common understanding so that clarity is obtained in the long term. Countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala and Argentina did not help their economies with nationalisation, in case you don't know that. On the other hand, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru have grown their respective economies by taking a different tack. Ambivalence on the question will deter investment in mining and it needs to be understood that our ageing mines need vast amounts of capital to mine deeper and deeper.
While we wish to support this budget, we would really like the Minister to do what the Minister of Public Works did in Parliament: lay bare the problems, warts and all, so that collectively we can progress and do what we have solemnly sworn to do, create economic growth and stimulate job creation. In nine elections in Europe recently changes have occurred. They have occurred in government because the people were no longer willing to live on promises. They wanted action, and so do the people of South Africa. I thank you. [Applause.]