Chairperson, hon Minister Shabangu, former Minister Buyelwa Sonjica, who is seated in the gallery, Deputy Minister Thabethe, chairperson Gona and members of the portfolio committee, hon members, Kgosi Pilane wa Bakgatla in the gallery - we recognise you, sir, and all the royalty that I might not have seen - director-general and senior officials of the department, senior executives of the state-owned enterprises and the private sector leadership that are here, distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen, I do indeed feel honoured to have the opportunity to address this Chamber on the occasion of our Budget Vote debate today. Let me also pay tribute to the three departed comrades and members of the National Assembly: Comrades Roy Padayachie, Sicelo Shiceka and Florence Nyanda.
I am particularly mindful of the significance of this day, 10 May, a day that symbolises the tipping point of our sociopolitical and economic history. On this day in 1994 Tata Madiba was inaugurated as the first President of the country's new democratic dispensation.
At once President Mandela became a beacon of hope for hundreds of millions of people the world over. Quite deservedly, the inauguration of the Presidency of this long-time freedom fighter marked a new beginning in so many spheres of life on this planet. For sociopolitical scientists and activists he became the embodiment of a fundamental yet peaceful revolution, demonstrating a practical alternative to confrontation, war and destruction. This was not only important for our people in South Africa, but also relevant for our continent with its many civil wars raging at the time. Beyond the continent of Africa, President Mandela and his achievements ushered in new options for the masses in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas.
His personal philosophy, enhanced by the ANC leadership in general, has already made its mark on the history of our nation. All of us in South Africa live with it every day. Even when we are too busy to acknowledge it or are oblivious of it, we still live with it every day. For generations to come, Tata Madiba and his legacy will live with us, pulsating like the lifeblood of our nation, propelling our constitutional democracy.
We salute you, President, and all the other outstanding 12 presidents and leaders of the ANC, from president Dube to president Zuma. Once more, happy centenary to our glorious movement, the ANC. [Applause.]
Closer to the subject of our discussion today, Tata Madiba was also a mineworker once upon a time. So, for us in the mining sector he has assumed a special place in our hearts, and his association with our sector evokes unique and proud feelings. We cherish his close and personal affiliation. Lest we forget, Madiba still remains the life president of the National Union of Mineworkers, NUM.
Apart from the significance of this day, this year also marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the NUM. We can congratulate the past and the present leadership of the NUM on their achievements.
As we celebrate this anniversary, let me, as an ex-mineworker and an activist, mark yet another critical process of our modern history. The formation of the NUM and its history have become synonymous with South Africa's struggle to reverse the injustices of the past and to correct systemic inequalities for the determined, but systematic, normalisation of our socioeconomic and political landscape. For many decades, the plight of South Africa's mineworkers was an embodiment of the tyranny of colonialism, apartheid and crass capitalism. The birth of the NUM, therefore, was the start of the journey towards the transformation of this iniquitous labour- capital dispensation in the mining sector.
We in this country have yet to properly recognise the significant role played by mineworkers in the development of our country and its economy, and in the struggle towards the democracy that we enjoy today.
This year also marks another anniversary, namely the 10th year of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, the MPRDA. This was a landmark piece of legislation. With the stroke of a pen, the MPRDA transferred the trusteeship of our natural endowment of all mineral and petroleum resources to the state. This nationalisation of the trusteeship of a major public interest was a critical step towards the normalisation of our political economic landscape.
The amendments to the MPRDA are vital as we anticipate the next century of mining activities in our country. It is by now common knowledge that South Africa's estimated in situ value of mineral endowment exceeds US$3,5 trillion. These resources can be economically mined for the next 100 years. As such, we need to optimise the management of mineral resource exploitation to benefit all South Africans and to contribute meaningfully towards addressing the development challenges of our country. It is therefore our collective obligation to ensure that this considerable wealth is utilised to generate socioeconomic benefits and integrated development for our nation. To do this, we need to draw lessons from our past century of mining, to avoid the undesirable consequences, and to ensure a mining industry that is socially progressive, environmentally sustainable and economically competitive.
To assist the industry to move towards the new paradigm and to ensure that our mining activities do not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs, we have recognised the imperative of a collaborative and consultative platform for moving the industry forward. We have established the Mining Industry Growth and Development Task Team, Migdett, which provides a framework for the exchange of views, creating convergence of action plans. This has proved useful and constructive in avoiding job losses in the recent past, and will be critical in transforming our mining industry systematically and continually.
If South Africa is to succeed in extracting maximum benefit from its mineral endowment, it must do things differently. The operative word is "differently". In this regard, the key behavioural change that needs to be prioritised is with regard to the health and safety of the workers. South Africa's mining in many commodities is going deeper and deeper underground every year. The trade-off between safety and short-term productivity and profitability is becoming more and more pressing. Conventionally, the safety of the workforce has received secondary attention - short-term profit has been put first. This paradigm needs urgent and ongoing attention.
At the same time, we cannot continue to mine and export ore and other raw materials for processing elsewhere, as this severely limits the benefits we can derive from the exploitation of our resources. There is therefore a need to increase value addition in our minerals before they are exported, in line with the government's new mineral beneficiation and industrialisation priorities.
The value addition or local beneficiation proposition is a natural progression from a resource-based economy to a secondary and tertiary economy, which is consistent with the path of development followed by the other developed economies in the world. Moreover, this will present enormous investment opportunities in the country for both South African and foreign investors.
In the recent past there has been a great deal of debate and controversy about mineral beneficiation. In the process, much emphasis has been placed on narrow down-stream opportunities for mineral beneficiation. As part of our mind-set change, we need to re-examine notions of beneficiation, and broaden our definition in line with the realities of socioeconomic and financial benefits that both upstream and downstream opportunities offer in each and every commodity. The history of socioeconomic development in resource-rich countries, such as the USA, Brazil, Australia, China and Russia, and including South Africa itself, demonstrates clearly that industrialisation and mineral beneficiation are inseparable. The emergence of national utilities, such as Eskom, water boards, Transnet with its railways and harbour logistics, and the petrochemical and explosives industries, was in a large part due to the mining industry. In effect, then, these were the clear opportunities for industrialisation, and hence socioeconomic benefits arising from the development and expansion of the mining sector.
In much the same way today, South Africa enjoys a considerable range of opportunities for integrating our mineral beneficiation and industrialisation programme in order to enhance the pace of social development and economic growth. Such an approach to mineral beneficiation and industrialisation calls for a much higher ...