Chairperson, thank you very much. Hon Minister Shabangu and hon Ministers present here, hon Deputy Minister Oliphant and hon Deputy Ministers at this point, hon members, esteemed guests, and ladies and gentlemen, once again as Parliament we are called upon to assess and comment on one of our departmental funding allocations by Treasury. This we do so that we can exchange ideas on the allocation and make suggestions as to how this allocation can best be utilised for the benefit of our citizens, Parliament and the country as a whole.
You have heard that South Africa is exceptionally well endowed with mineral resources. She possesses almost all the minerals necessary for a minerals- based industrialisation strategy. This suggests that this country has been blessed with an exceptional mineral resource endowment. She has been aptly described as a country of "geological superlatives", and is arguably the richest geological terrain in the world. In fact, reliable research has proven that South Africa has substantial deposits of almost all minerals important to modern industry.
When the ANC took over governance in 1994, we observed that discriminatory policies by the then apartheid government excluded the majority of South Africans from full participation in the minerals industry. On the basis of that observation, the democratic government established by the ANC had to devise legislative means that would promote, support and regulate mining in this country. This was prompted, as you have already heard, by one clause of a very thin, important document, uMqulu weNkululeko, [The Freedom Charter], which states that the "(t)he people shall share in the country's wealth!" and that "(t)he mineral wealth beneath the soil ... shall be transferred to the ... people as a whole".
That was further amplified by this people's movement in the Ready to Govern conference in 1992. Wawuphi wena? [Where were you?]
The ANC resolved at that conference that, and I quote:
The mineral wealth beneath the soil is the national heritage of all South Africans, including future generations.
And not of an exclusive few, as we found it.
Oppas vir die ... [Be careful of the ...] ... state-owned mining company. It's coming.
A milestone emanating from that conference was the implementation of the Mining Charter, which extended the scope of the state diamond board so that it became the SA Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator. Subsequent to that, we had the establishment of the State Diamond Trader.
These and other steps were taken by the democratic government to expedite the creation of an enabling environment to effect local beneficiation, which should be acknowledged and applauded.
You know, sometimes people who were given a certain colour by God think that because of that colour they can think better. [Laughter.] That is absurd. I was listening when hon Schmidt said that beneficiation had failed in Chile and Bolivia. Yet, when a state-owned mining company was briefing a South African delegation in their presence, they were mum; they couldn't say a word about the successes of beneficiation. [Applause.]
Because of this podium now ... [Interjections.]