Business Report writes that Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane has come out guns blazing against the mining industry, accusing it of tarnishing the government’s integrity amid complaints that the safety stoppages process was hurting production.
Zwane on Tuesday defended the use of safety stoppages in terms of Section 54 of the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA), saying that health and safety were non-negotiable. This hardened stance came in the wake of the publication of a Chamber of Mines document claiming that the industry had lost R4.8 billion in revenue last year as a result of safety stoppages. Noting that to date he had not received any formal appeals against particular stoppages, as allowed for in legislation, Zwane claimed it was “appalling behaviour by some responsible corporate citizenry of South Africa’s mining industry to be seemingly filing such appeals in the courts of public opinion.” Safety in mining has been in the spotlight with fatalities climbing to 57 so far this year, compared with 46 during the same period last year. The Chamber of Mines said it was engaging constructively with the DMR regarding implementation of section 54.
- Read this report by Dineo Faku in full at Business Report
- Read too, Better safe than busy, mines told by mineral resources department, at BDLive
- And also, DMR denies using MHSA for its own gains, at Mining Weekly
- Read the DMR’s press statement at Polity
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page