Cape Town - The Department of Mining has implored mining companies to take their commitments towards social and labour plans seriously.
Speaking during her Budget Vote in Parliament today, Minister Susan Shabangu said she was aware of the difficulties ahead for the mining industry given the economic crisis, but said she was also mindful that mineral resources in the country could and should be used to further improve the quality of people's lives.
She said that reviewing the Mining Charter would be among the key focus areas to ensure that the development of mining does not continue at the exclusion of communities.
"The role of communities in mining has been less than adequate, with only a few pockets of excellence which we anticipated would demonstrate the value of community participation and would be adopted as a model of effective community participation," she said.
She said that the department's focus over the past five years has been on the transformation of the minerals and mining industry.
"Gone are the days when mining projects did not have an impact on the quality of life of our people. The new Department of Mining will, as of this financial year, conduct inspections on all social and labour projects.
"We will ensure that companies deliver on their commitments. We have no choice but to ensure that our people see and feel the direct benefits of minerals in their lifetime," she said.
The minister said that in this regard the department would boost its capacity to facilitate and address the socio-economic development challenges faced by hosting communities and labour-sending areas.
"We will, in future, identify projects that will contribute towards the improvement of the lives of our people and announce them in our annual budget vote," she said.
The minister said that an independent service provider had been contracted to quantify the progress to date against the commitments of the pillars of the Mining Charter.
"I must emphasise that the commitments of the Charter are not intended for compliance purposes only. They do not have a shelf life ending in 2014, but are intended to permanently transform the industry to be truly reflective of South Africa.
"Rights holders who continue to create a ripe environment for fronting will soon be losing their licenses," she said.
The minister said that the department remained concerned about the tensions between mining companies and communities in areas where mining activities take place.
"We believe that the communities would not oppose mining if they were meaningful beneficiaries," she said.
However, the minister did acknowledge that some companies were taking steps in this regard and encouraged those who were not to initiate programmes to contribute to improving the social conditions of the affected areas.
"Mining companies should take into cognisance that over and above the legal licence to operate, they obtain a social licence through cooperation with communities," the minister said.
