Keynote Address by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic
of South Africa, the honourable Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, at the 10th Annual
Investing in African Mining Conference, Cape Town, 8 February 2005
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Firstly, I would like to thank you for
inviting me to address this esteemed audience at this 10th Annual Investing in
African Mining Conference. This gathering happens on the eve of the Opening of
the South African Parliament and in the eleventh year of our democracy.
Africa is being transformed hence the South Africa of ten years ago differs fundamentally
from South Africa today. This transformation is still continuing including the
mining sector. Mining occupies the pride of black in Africa's economic development.
past was one of deliberate enslavement, dispossession, colonial plunder and colonial
rule resulting in landlessness and impoverishment followed by neo-colonialism
that largely resulted in deepening poverty and instability.
of these centuries of foreign and indirect rule, have been, in the words of Ali
Mazrui in his masterful work, The Africans, that:
"African states since
independence have experienced a bewildering and rapid sequence of military coups
and economic shifts and turns
It started with the slave trade, which dragged
African labour itself into the emerging international capitalist system. This
was the era of the labour imperative in relations between Africa and the West.
But colonialism was the era of the territorial imperative, as the West demanded
from Africa not just labour but territory and its promise in all its dimensions."
as Mazrui also suggests, one view is that the "the kind of capitalism which
was transferred to Africa was itself shallow."
patterns were transferred more effectively than Western production techniques.
Western tastes were acquired more quickly than Western skills, the profit motive
was adopted without the efficient calculus of entrepreneurship, and capitalist
greed was internalised sooner than capitalist discipline."
he argues, "is quite apart from the anomaly of urbanisation without industrialisation."
was only well into the last century, especially in the 1960s, that ground-breaking
work was done by African leaders through struggle and freeing their people from
colonial rule. These African heroes embarked upon African unity and declared that
the freedom of the African continent would only be realised when all African countries
would be free.
The dreams of that generation of leaders who liberated Africa
have not been realised. They dreamt of an Africa free and united. They dreamt
of an Africa where there is strong solidarity amongst different countries. An
Africa that is developed and its people skilled and healthy.
An Africa that
does not export raw material. An Africa that exports manufactured goods.
Africa that is at peace.
A prosperous Africa.
An Africa that takes
care of its environment.
An Africa very different from Ali Mazrui.
believe that each and everyone of us in this hall can contribute if not already
contributing to that Africa.
Africa has most if not all the strategic minerals
needed for the global economy. Therefore mining must be part of the driving force
for the economic development of Africa.
Unfortunately the United Nations
report on the millennium development goals which include amongst other things
food security, poverty alleviation, reduction of child and maternal mortality
and primary education.
The findings indicate that Sub-Saharan Africa demonstrates
a widespread shortfall for most of the MDGs, with increasing food insecurity,
rise in extreme poverty, high child and maternal mortality, large number of people
living in urban slums, undernourishment remains high, no progress in primary education,
persistent gender inequality, high disease prevalence rates (hiv/aids, malaria,
TB), no significant progress on access to safe drinking water and sanitation and
lastly Africa records substantial environmental degradation that is eroding it
natural resource base. The report boldly asserts that Sub-Saharan Africa is the
epicenter of crisis and as a consequence requires specific poverty scale-up interventions
Fortunately the same report makes the bold assumption that the MDGs
can still be achieved by 2015 if there is renewed and intensive effort by al parties.
are of the same view that Africa can still achieve the MDGs provided we all act
together. Africa has a critical mass of leadership who together embrace change
for the African continent and have seen the need for the creation of investment
friendly environments and the nurturing of conditions in which entrepreneurs and
intellectuals, business leadership and innovators, can arise organically and through
their deeds can help to take Africa to greater heights.
Thus, in the last
decade we have been seized with putting in place the necessary structures and
cultivating the necessary conditions to guarantee our future and those of our
In this new century and new millennium I believe that as Africans
we are indeed poised to determine our future.
Through the African Union
we have began to re-organise our continental so that we can turn Africa into a
peaceful democratic secure and stable continent. A continent of hope.
NEPAD Africa is restructuring its economy and its relations with the rest of the
Africa recognises that unless we can feed ourselves we have no hope
of economic progress. Agriculture and opening of markets is important and therefore
the Doha development round has to be concluded.
Africa must shift from
exporting raw materials to exporting value added goods. It must broaden its industrial
base. Special attention has to be paid to infrastructure development.
human resource development ensuring acquisition of technical skills and technologies
including information and communication technology and bio-technology.
is a driving force in the restructuring of the economy. China is an example whose
economic growth has resulted in an increased demand of many commodities including
minerals and metal ores.
China is now the largest importer of Iron Ore,
of copper. China imports from Africa Iron Ore, copper, platinum nickel, lead,
diamonds amongst others.
Africa would not need to import any of the strategic
minerals from outside its shores.
In Africa mining is very important if
it handles poverty it will be at the centre of economic growth.
sector needs to begin investing in the beneficiation of all these minerals.
mining companies can contribute a lot to the alteration of poverty to creating
and to creation of jobs and also the development of rural villages. The value
addition would stimulate further small and big business thus empowering the communities
and providing wealth instead of extracting the minerals and leaving huge gaping
holes and poor communities behind.
The mining sector can be a driving force
in the development of technologies and we see here in our country and elsewhere
but it can therefore help in technology transfer to the rest of the continent.
starting points has been for Africa to reclaim ownership and management of its
own minerals. For the industry to be sustainable African must fully participate
not only as providers of cheap labour but as owners and managers of the industry.
Mbeki had this to say addressing the High Diamond Council last year among other
"Undoubtedly, the need, extent and intensity of economic empowerment
would differ in each diamond producing country but could involve some or more
of the following:
- Participation of Women: sensitising the diamond industry
to its role in developing women as major stakeholders in the industry.
gender is crosscutting, it's needs to be placed in the mainstream of the whole
value chain, starting from access to resources e.g., land and mining rights, finance,
capacity building and transfer of skills up to ensuring that it accommodates race,
culture, class etc. and therefore overall gender needs and concerns.
broad-based empowerment that would include communities and workers in the industry.
- Skills development constitutes a critical part of the industry's growth
strategy. Audits of skills should be undertaken and be utilised in order to identify
gaps and develop sector implementation plans. Of course, these activities should
build on current interventions. Existing legislative frameworks should be utilised
to strengthen the process particularly as they relate to resources and institutional
base for delivery.
Diamonds, like al minerals commodities are non-renewable
resources. Accordingly, dependence on raw materials subjects a country's economy
to primary commodity price fluctuations and cyclical volatility.
that it is both incumbent upon, and would be of benefit to the international diamond
industry to support and invest in the beneficiation and value-adding projects
in African diamond producing countries to ensure economic sustainability beyond
the depletion of the diamond resources.
As a country we are therefore greatly
interested in promoting this process. It also relates to the correct view that
I believe is now prevalent, that Africa should become fully integrated within
the globalising global economy. This raises the important question of how this
process of integration should be effected.
I believe that a global consensus
exists that the process of globalisation has produced and is producing both positive
and negative consequences. On the negative side is the growing disparity in wealth,
income and growth and development potential between the rich and the poor both
between and within countries.
There is therefore a widely shared view that
al humanity should seek to make an impact on the globalisation process so that
it does not result in the marginalisation and impoverishment of large numbers
of people globally.
With regard to our own Continent, it is our firm view
that this cannot be done on the basis of the perpetuation of the old relationship
according to which we as colonies produced and export raw materials and imported
high value added manufactured goods from the colonising countries. This also led
to the building of an infrastructure directed at servicing this particular relationship."
though he was talking specifically about the diamond industry it would be very
true for the mining industry as a whole.
This is why in 2002 the South African
Parliament enacted the Minerals and Petroleum Act. The Act has sought to bring
South Africa in line with other mineral producing through a universally recognised
approach, which grants the State custodianship of all minerals resources within
the country. It also seeks to promote equitable access and employment equity for
all the country's citizens to the mineral resources and mining activities of the
While it provides a safe haven for owners of existing mineral rights
through the recognition of their "old order" rights for a period not
exceeding five years from the date of enactment, it also requires that the holders
convert them within the same period. The Act also provides for the security of
tenure in respect of prospecting and mining operations.
The Act also allows
for assistance to historically disadvantaged South Africans to conduct prospecting
or mining activities with the provision that such assistance is within the bounds
of equitable access.
The Broad-Based Socio-Economic Empowerment Charter
of 2001 is also intended as another means of transforming the South African mining
and minerals landscape through, among others, developmental strategies, encouraging
urban renewal, value-adding beneficiation and job creation.
As regards Employment
equity, industry is striving for a baseline of 40 percent historically disadvantaged
South African (HDSA) to participate in junior and senior management within five
years. We agreed that women should have 10 percent representation in the mining
industry within the same time frame.
The mining industry has also committed
itself to transferring 26 percent of its assets to historically disadvantaged
South Africans within 10 years. Employer share schemes will be counted as ownership
and beneficiation of primary commodities can be used to offset ownership.
quality assurance measures have also played their part in regulating the industry.
One such example is the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for Rough Diamonds
(KPCS), in which there are 43 participating countries. The KPCS was motivated
by a deep belief that the continent's minerals resources should serve as an engine
for sustainable development and growth and they are enabling these countries to
regain control over their diamond resources. As a result of this, there has been
a massive decrease in the volume of illicit transfers and a substantial increase
in much-needed government revenue. This is an important indicator that post-conflict
governments are progressively gaining control over these precious natural resources.
the confines of one country or one sector, the challenge for Africa is one of
regional integration - this remains as a possible instrument for African economic
recovery, but the lack of organised and operational regional arrangements has
led to the continent continuing to rely on exporting its commodities to the North
in exchange for higher-value manufactured imports. Thus the need or consolidating
continental and regional trading arrangements has to be met so that African producers
and exporters can improve their competitiveness in global markets. I hope that
this Conference will take this matter into their deliberations for further discussion.
question is also whether we as Africans - does Africa - have the necessary resources,
infrastructure, expertise - both human skills and capacity - in order to use mining
as a way and means of expediting our development.
And furthermore what
are we doing to ensure that we do begin to rely upon ourselves in building this
sector, that we have expertise from our own people in the energy and minerals
sector, that we have resources such has refineries and that our universities are
equipped to educate and train individuals for this sector?
While there is
collaborative research within the global minerals industry and in particular within
the minerals-research environment and South Africa in particular has a comparatively
large research base, there is a need for more local subsidiaries, to serve as
catalysts in promoting and building capacity in South Africa, the region and the
There needs to be synergy between private sector structures,
the state's mining research technology bodies, in our case, Mintek, and African
university research centres and regional centres of excellence. This kind of collaboration
ought to also set continental standards, which ought to enhance our investment
President Thabo Mbeki in January this year on receiving an Honorary
Doctorate from the University of Khartoum, made the following point:
are among the African countries well endowed with rich natural resources - Sudan
with oil and gas deposits and great agricultural potential, and the DRC with oil,
gas, diamonds, a host of other minerals and abundant water resources. Yet, despite
their rich natural resources, the two countries are among the poorest on the continent.
Both countries have suffered under autocracy as well as debilitating civil wars
believe that co-operation between industry, research organisations and universities
should apply especially to the mining industry in Africa. Africa offers the highest
return of investment anywhere in the world according to a recent World Bank Annual
report. The entrepreneurs and captains of industry present in this gathering have
a central role to play through the mining industry in unlocking Africa's potential
and in contributing to human resource development and economic growth.
wish you well in your deliberations at this Conference and hope that out of this
meeting will come more investment in the mining industry in Africa leading to
greater rates of growth and development.
Together, let us do what we have
to do, what must be done, to guarantee Africa's future.
I thank you.
by : Ronnie Mamoepa
Contact No: 082-990-4853
Department of Foreign
P/Bag X 152
08 FEBRUARY 2005