The Minerals Council South Africa – along with other private and public sector stakeholders and the trade unions – yesterday committed itself to collaborative efforts to grow the global competitiveness of the mining industry with the signing the Mining Leadership Compact.
President of the Minerals Council, Mxolisi Mgogo, explained that the compact was a product of the growth and competitiveness task team that had been established at the same time as the Mining Charter task team.
It commits the respective parties to “playing their parts” in working co-operatively and according to high standards of good governance to make South Africa a competitive mining jurisdiction.
The compact addresses issues such as ethics and good governance, effective regulation, lawful behaviour, stable stakeholder relationships, new enterprise development, beneficiation, investment promotion, infrastructure development, innovation, working and living conditions and community empowerment and development.
“The compact represents another step towards ensuring a growing, transforming industry able optimally to serve the interests of all South Africans,” said Mgogo.
Addressing around 6 000 delegates at the Mining Indaba in Cape Town – where the compact was signed – mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe said that while some might see this as “a mere formality”, it was government’s intention that the compact become the industry’s “growth and competitiveness compass”.
“The compact contains eleven areas of focus which we as social partners believe provide the basis for a roadmap to attain vision 2030. There will be an implementation plan developed to keep track of progress made and milestones reached,” said Mantashe.
