Hansard: NCOP: Workers Day Debate: Advancing our national efforts to make mine safety a business imperative in our mines; Caucus; Plenary
House: National Council of Provinces
Date of Meeting: 02 May 2012
Summary
No summary available.
Minutes
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THURSDAY, 3 MAY 2012
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
_________________
The Council met 14:06.
The Deputy Chairperson took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela)
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START OF DAY
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Hon members, because we are using new gadgets here, may I ask if everybody has logged in? [Interjections.] Are you sure? You press the "Select" button, which will show you a list of members' names. Thereafter, select your name on the list appearing on the screen. In case you cannot see your name, scroll down. After selecting your name, press the "OK" button. You will see a small window with the words, "Place finger on the reader". Place your index finger on the fingerprint reader above the orange flashing light. Is it working thus far?
HON MEMBERS: No, no.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): It is not working? [Interjections.] Hon members, I think we should proceed. We might get some help in the interim.
Mr S S MAZOSIWE
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The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela)
NOTICES OF MOTION
Mr S S MAZOSIWE: Deputy Speaker, I give notice that on the next sitting of day of the Council I shall move:
That the Council-
(1) notes, with utmost relief, the safe return of a 12-year-old South African boy, Nayati Moodliar, who was snatched while outside Mont Kiara International School for diplomats' children in Kuala Lumpur on Friday;
(2) further notes that Nayati Moodliar, whose parents are from Cape Town, was grabbed by two men and bundled into a black car with false number plates in Malaysia;
(3) notes that his mother could not celebrate her birthday on Tuesday as she was still desperate for the safe return of her son;
(4) takes this opportunity to condemn in the strongest possible terms the kidnapping of Nayati Moodliar; and
(5) calls on the Malaysian government to move with utmost speed to ensure that the perpetrators of this crime are brought to face the full might of the law.
Ms B V MNCUBE
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Mr S S MAZOSIWE
Ms B V MNCUBE: Thank you, Deputy Chair. I give notice that on the next sitting of day of the Council I shall move:
That the Council-
(1) notes, with utmost concern and apprehension, the statement made by the national Department of Health last Tuesday, admitting that security in some of our public hospitals is slack and that this puts the lives of health workers and patients at risk;
(2) further notes that the spokesperson for Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi indicated that the department was aware of security problems at some of its hospitals and that it was working hard to address them, but this would come at a huge cost to the department;
(3) acknowledges that last Friday's hostage drama, which unfolded at the private Life Westville Hospital in Durban, where a 38‑year-old man was shot dead by police after he had held a woman hostage for 4 hours, was indicative that security in our health facilities was lax and in need of urgent intervention; and
(4) takes this opportunity to call on the Department of Health to move with utmost speed and expeditiously in securing our public health facilities.
Mr D A WORTH
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Ms B V MNCUBE
Mr D A WORTH: Hon Chairperson, on behalf of the DA I give notice that at the next sitting of the Council I shall move:
That the Council-
(1) notes that more than 30 contracts, worth at least R200 million, were awarded without going to tender at the Matjhabeng Municipality in the Free State province;
(2) also notes that 13 of the contracts, valued at about R32 million, were awarded in one day;
(3) further notes that a confidential report on the municipality of Matjhabeng discloses details of corruption, theft of public money, and blatant financial mismanagement;
(4) notes that this confidential report is known as the Selesho Commission report, and was prepared by the development and governance consultant, Sledge Selesho, in 2010;
(5) notes, moreover, that councillors have never seen or ever been given copies of the full document; and
(6) finally notes that the DA calls on the MEC for co-operative governance, traditional affairs and human settlements in the Free State to release the full report of the Selesho Commission, as well as the Ramathe/Fivaz report, to expose the corrupt officials, instead of sweeping the damning reports under the carpet.
Mrs E C VAN LINGEN
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Mr D A WORTH
Mrs E C VAN LINGEN: Hon Chairperson, on behalf of the DA I give notice that at the next sitting of the Council I shall move:
That the Council-
(1) notes that scholar transport for all learners in the Eastern Cape remains a critical issue;
(2) also notes that the Eastern Cape department of transport awarded the tender, for R206 million, to a single individual;
(3) further notes that all the subcontractors have not been paid;
(4) finally notes that the new contracts have not been awarded, and the budget for scholar transport will last only until the end of October, while the children start their exams at the beginning of November; and
(5) calls on the Minister to urgently intervene and resolve the issue, so that the learners can at least write their exams and spend the first three months of next year at school.
Mr T E CHAANE
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Mrs E C VAN LINGEN
Mr T E CHAANE: Thank you, Chair. I give notice that at the next sitting of the Council I shall move:
That the Council-
(1) notes with utmost concern the shocking figures released in Parliament by the Public Service Commission, which is blaming government departments for taking more than the prescribed 60 days to complete disciplinary hearings;
(2) also notes that the Department of Correctional Services topped the list of departments by paying R14 million to employees sitting at home;
(3) further notes that it is followed by the Department of Justice, which is paying over R11 million to 69 employees on suspension;
(4) notes, moreover, that the SA Police Service pays over R8 million to 869 officials on suspension;
(5) finally notes that most of the public servants that continue to be paid while on leave are charged with misconduct ranging from theft, fraud, misuse of state property, sexual harassment and sexual assault, to gross negligence, resulting in a loss of state money and the violation of tender processes; and
(6) takes this opportunity to call on all government departments, and the Public Service Commission in particular, to move with utmost speed in resolving suspensions on full pay in the Public Service.
Mr D B FELDMAN
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Mr T E CHAANE
Mr D B FELDMAN: Deputy Chairperson, I give notice that at the next sitting of the Council I shall move on behalf of Cope:
That the Council-
(1) debates the next biggest irregular and potentially wasteful expenditure after the arms deal, the Gauteng e-toll and road levy of the SA National Roads Agency Ltd, Sanral;
(2) also debates the need to call for a full investigation into the accountability of Sanral's management and the role of National Treasury in the preparation of this tender; and
(3) further debates the need to investigate whether there has been a deliberate attempt to abuse the state money system for narrow political purposes and to benefit a few.
Mr M W MAKHUBELA
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Mr D B FELDMAN
Mr M W MAKHUBELA: Deputy Chairperson, I give notice that at the next sitting of the Council I shall move on behalf of Cope:
That the Council-
(1) notes the shocking and unacceptable negligence of the ruling party in failing to address the problem of magisterial boundaries, a situation which hampers service delivery to our people;
(2) also notes that for the past 18 years people have been adhering to the magisterial boundaries created by the apartheid regime during the formation of the homelands and self-governing states;
(3) further notes that, for example, Thohoyandou, which is 75 km away from Tshilwavhusiku, is still servicing the needs of the people of Tshilwavhusiku, while Makhado is about 5 km away, and they have not rectified this situation; and
(4) calls on the ruling party to take serious steps in this regard, and attend to this unacceptable lack of commitment.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): The hon De Villiers?
Mr M J R DE VILLIERS
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Mr M W MAKHUBELA
Mr M J R DE VILLIERS: Thank you, Deputy Chairperson. I'm very sorry I couldn't hear you. I give notice that at the next sitting of the Council I shall move on behalf of the DA:
That the Council-
(1) notes that the need for social workers in the country is huge and is of paramount importance due to the large numbers of poor people and the social ills in the communities;
(2) further notes that the provincial departments of social development across the country are unable to place graduate social workers and bursars in their employment due to inadequate budget funding;
(3) recognises that it is clear that the Western Cape department of social development is leading the way in employing and developing graduate social workers;
(4) also recognises that it has employed nearly 100 newly qualified social workers, who completed their studies in 2011, and funded them with bursaries from the Western Cape department of social development; and
(5) debates the need for social workers and service delivery in quality social development.
Ms D Z RANTHO
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Mr M J R DE VILLIERS
EASTERN CAPE MULTIBILLION RAND INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN
(Draft Resolution)
Ms D Z RANTHO: Deputy Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the Council-
(1) notes the appointment of an eight-member task team by the Eastern Cape provincial government, under the chairmanship of the MEC for economic development and environmental affairs, to drive the province's multi-billion rand infrastructure plan over the next seven years;
(2) also notes that the task team consists of a team experts and professionals of repute from various sectors, including the public and private sectors, and as such they have massive knowledge and experience, as well as commitment to the development of the province;
(3) further notes that, among others, they are tasked with developing a plan that will take the Eastern Cape out of poverty and underdevelopment and make it one of the mainstream players in the socioeconomic development landscape in the country;
(4) takes this opportunity to welcome this initiative;
(5) commends the premier and the provincial government of the Eastern Cape for their initiative; and
(6) wishes them success with the implementation and fulfilment thereof.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
Ms M G BOROTO
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Ms D Z RANTHO
HANDING OVER OF LAST REMAINS OF MK COMMANDER, XOLILE SAM
(Draft Resolution)
Ms M G BOROTO: Deputy Chair, I move without notice:
That the Council-
(1) notes with a great sense of appreciation and utmost pride and relief the report of the handing over of the remains of one of our gallant fighters for liberation and former MK commander, Comrade Xolile Sam, by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr J T Radebe, in Port Elizabeth tomorrow, Friday, 4 May 2012;
(2) also notes that Comrade Xolile Sam, whose MK name was Valdez Mbatha, re-entered the country in 1988 as commander of the Special Operations Unit in the East Rand area, after he had joined the ANC's uMkhonto weSizwe and undergone military training in Angola;
(3) further notes that after discovering his activities, the former Vlakplaas commander, Eugene de Kock, and his Security Branch colleagues surrounded his house and arrested him;
(4) notes, moreover, that Comrade Xolile Sam was tortured, suffocated and shot in order to extract information from him;
(5) notes that he died in a police truck shortly thereafter and was buried as an unidentified pauper in a separate pauper section of the Vosloorus cemetery; and
(6) takes this opportunity to pay homage and tribute to this great fallen hero and servant of our people, who joins the illustrious list of the sons and daughters of our movement who lost their lives fighting for the liberation of our people.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
Mrs N W MAGADLA
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Ms M G BOROTO
RAPE HORRORS IN EASTERN CAPE AND KWAZULU-NATAL
(Draft Resolution)
Mrs N W MAGADLA: Deputy Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the Council-
(1) notes with utmost shock and dismay the double rape horror in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, where two siblings – a seven-year-old girl and her six-year-old brother – were allegedly raped by the same man, as well as the horror rape of an eight-year-old girl in KwaZulu-Natal, whose eye was gouged out by the rapist;
(2) further notes that the girl from the Eastern Cape was first raped over a period of time and threatened by her rapist, and then viciously attacked and raped again, and assaulted so badly that she was hospitalised for a week, and it was then that her brother was raped too;
(3) recognises that while the country celebrated Freedom Day last Friday, these siblings and many other women and children who are the victims of violence and rape in our country are deprived of one of their most basic freedoms; and
(4) takes this opportunity to call on all authorities and the people of South Africa to rise against those who continue to violate the rights and dignity of women and children in our communities, and ensure that they are made to face the full might of the law.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
Ms M P THEMBA
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Ms N W MAGADLA
SABC EXPANSION PLANS
(Draft Resolution)
Ms M P THEMBA: Deputy Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the Council-
(1) notes the undertaking given by the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, that it will spend R1 billion in 2013 on buying and commissioning international and local content, and that R800 million of this money will be spent exclusively on local content;
(2) further notes that the SABC has also described plans to increase the number of its current TV channels from three to a total of 18 channels when digital terrestrial television, DTT, is finally launched commercially in South Africa, and that it plans to invest over R1,7 billion in the first three years of the launch of digital terrestrial television; and
(3) takes this opportunity to congratulate the SABC and the Minister of Communications, Mrs D D Pule, for working tirelessly to turn the tide in the public broadcaster.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
Mr C J DE BEER
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Ms M P THEMBA
ORGANIC VEGETABLE PROJECT OF ELDERLY KHAYELITSHA WOMEN
(Draft Resolution)
Mr C J DE BEER: Hon Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the Council-
(1) notes the innovative initiative of elderly women in Khayelitsha in Cape Town, who started growing organic vegetables in their backyards 12 years ago to feed their families;
(2) also notes that their initiative was so successful that they soon required more land and initially the local Luhlaza High School allowed them to use some of the school's land, but that also became too small, and they then obtained more land from the municipality;
(3) further notes that they now provide work to unemployed people and, apart from selling their produce, they also donate some to the church, as well as the hospice and the poor;
(4) recognises that they recently won the Western Cape category for a Subsistence Project in the 2011 Female Entrepreneur Competition run by the National Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; and
(5) takes this opportunity to commend these women for their remarkable initiative, endurance, hard work and achievement, and calls on others to follow suit.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
Mr A J NYAMBI
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Mr C J DE BEER
PLIGHT OF FAMILY IN LEFISWANE VILLAGE, MPUMALANGA
(Draft Resolution)
Mr A J NYAMBI: Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the Council-
(1) notes with concern the devastating circumstances of a poor family of 10 of Lefiswane Village in Marapyane, Mpumalanga, who are forced to share a one-room shack after their four-bedroom house was destroyed by a storm five months ago;
(2) further notes that the local municipality has been unable to assist or to provide them with temporary shelter, and that the family apparently does not qualify to benefit from the government's housing programme for the poor, as one member of the family earns R700 a month, an amount which is barely enough to buy essential foodstuff for the family; and
(3) takes this opportunity to make a clarion call to the people of Mpumalanga and the local municipality to step in and assist the family.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
Mr F ADAMS
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Mr A J NYAMBI
ILLEGAL DIGGING FOR GOLD AT TSHEPONG MINE IN WELKOM
(Draft Resolution)
Mr F ADAMS: Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the Council-
(1) notes with utmost concern that well-organised criminal syndicates are luring unemployed young men from neighbouring countries to enter the country and illegally dig gold under dangerous conditions, especially at the Tshepong mine in Welkom in the Free State;
(2) further notes that these syndicates are assisted by corrupt security officers and clerks who work for the mines, that they use retrenched or former miners to give the recruits crash courses, and, in instances where it is too expensive to bribe security and mine employees, the recruits are smuggled through tunnels in disused mines; and
(3) takes this opportunity to call on all authorities and the mining industry to work decisively to put an end to incidents of illegal mining and to ensure that those who continue to traffic our people for their own selfish ends are made to face the full might of the law.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
Mr H B GROENEWALD
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Mr F ADAMS
CONGRATULATIONS TO COMMANDER THAMSANQA MATSANE
(Draft Resolution)
Mr H B GROENEWALD: Hon Chairperson, on behalf of the DA I move without notice:
That the Council-
(1) congratulates Commander Thamsanqa Matsane on becoming the first black submarine commander and taking up the reins of the SAS Queen Modjadji;
(2) notes that he grew up in Bosbokrand in Mpumalanga, and what makes his achievement more remarkable is that that is so far from the sea;
(3) acknowledges that he obtained his BSc degree and is the father of two children.
We as South Africans are proud of Thamsanqa!
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
Mr V M MANZINI
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Mr H B GROENEWALD
ZAHARA SHINES AT 18th SA MUSIC AWARDS
(Draft Resolution)
Mr V M MANZINI: Hon Chairperson, on behalf of the DA I move without notice:
That the Council–
(1) notes that singing sensation Zahara swept the boards at the 18th SA Music Awards, Sama, held at Sun City in the North West province on Monday night;
(2) further notes that she was hailed "Queen Zahara" as she scooped eight Samas, namely for the album of the year, female artist of the year, newcomer of the year, best selling album, best smooth urban music album, best collaboration, best selling full-track download and, lastly, Loliwe;
(3) acknowledges that her position should be likened to a beautiful dream that the country will not want to see coming to an end, not only for her, but for TS Records as well; and
(4) further acknowledges that Zahara is simply the best, as she writes her music, plays the guitar and sings too.
Well done, Zahara!
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
Mr K A SINCLAIR
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Mr V M MANZINI
ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIVERSITY IN NORTHERN CAPE
(Draft Resolution)
Mr K A SINCLAIR: Deputy Chairperson, on behalf of Cope I move without notice:
That the Council-
(1) notes with gratitude and excitement the decision to establish a university in the Northern Cape;
(2) considers and debates the feasibility of the location of the proposed tertiary institution;
(3) notes with interest that proposals to facilitate and build the university have been presented by three cities and towns, namely Kimberley, Upington and Colesberg; and
(4) objectively considers the importance of building the university in Colesberg in terms of the agenda of the government of the day.
Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Hon members, may I be permitted to cut this short?
Mr D V BLOEM: Yes, please!
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): We have actually ... [Interjections.] I am not isolating anybody in this process, but we have actually used more time than allocated. Thank you.
Mr D V BLOEM
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The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela)
MOTION OF CONDOLENCE
(The Late Mr S Shiceka)
Mr D V BLOEM: Deputy Chairperson, as we were fellow Members of Parliament, I knew and respected Comrade Sicelo Shiceka for his diligence, fair-mindedness and understanding of local government matters. Cope is saddened by his passing away.
In his time Comrade Sicelo Shiceka was an outstanding mobiliser of people, and his contribution to the struggle cannot be challenged by anyone. He fought against the oppression of the people by an apartheid state bent on dehumanising the people of our country. He stood tall and strong in that struggle, where many perished so that today all of us can enjoy equality, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of association. With today being World Press Freedom Day, it is fitting that we salute those that stood for media freedom. I also personally remember him as a great champion of nonracialism and nonsexism.
Unfortunately, near the end of his life, when he was seriously ill, the Public Protector found against him on a number of governance issues and, though he was expected to challenge these findings, he did not live to do so. Life is a short span and each death of a comrade challenges us to ask questions about our own lives and our own decisions, so that we can leave the world with a legacy that a future generation can be proud of.
I wish on behalf of Cope to extend our sincerest condolences to all his colleagues, friends, comrades and family members. We valued him highly. With his passing away, we retain in our memories what he stood for and fought for. His contribution will continue to motivate us, because freedom requires new champions in every age.
Deputy Chairperson, I want to say to his family and comrades, anyonewho has not made mistakes is the one who can point a finger first. I thank you.
Mr D JOSEPH
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Mr D V BLOEM
Mr D JOSEPH: Hon Deputy Chair and members, on behalf of the DA and as a member of the Select Committee on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, I convey our condolences to the family of the former Minister, Sicelo Shiceka. Our presence here today reflects his contribution to creating a democratic South Africa. It is a presence that he deserves.
The organisations that he served are a clear indication that he dedicated his young life and energy to a meaningful cause, namely the liberation of the nation. His young life was indeed a sacrifice for a greater cause.
I am sure that as government, public representatives and citizens we have learnt valuable lessons from the Mr Shiceka. As human beings, let us hold on to what was good, honour our past and commit ourselves to a better future.
Hon members, for all of us here there is a time to come and a time to go. We are thankful to the Almighty for the time the former Minister Shiceka was allowed to be with his loved ones and colleagues, and to serve his country. May his soul rest in peace. I thank you.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Hon members, I have been advised to take the hon Boroto off the speakers' list and to ask hon Matila to be the next speaker.
Mr A G MATILA
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Mr D JOSEPH
Mr A G MATILA: Hon Deputy Chairperson, hon members, special delegates, and ladies and gentlemen, this week our nation learnt with deep shock and sadness the tragic news of the passing away of the former Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr Sicelo Shiceka, who was also a member of this august House.
Hon Chairperson, allow me to join hands with compatriots throughout the country to extend my deepest condolences to the Shiceka family. The untimely passing away of Mr Shiceka is not only a loss to his family, but a grief shared by the nation and the movement that he served with utmost commitment and dedication.
He was a leader in his own right and distinguished himself in all his responsibilities and tasks. I am sure that those who walked with Mr Shiceka will bear testimony to the fact that he was truly a great South African.
He showed utmost commitment to the transformation of our local government. His leadership and political ideas will continue to inspire and drive our agenda to build an effective local government system.
Mr Shiceka was an outstanding leader of the struggle, who played a critical role in raising the confidence and consciousness of the 1976 generation, in order for them to stand up and fight against oppression. He was an influential leader and icon for the many young people who were determined to wage a fearless fight against oppression in our society. As a young leader in the 1970s and 1980s, Comrade Sicelo Shiceka worked tirelessly to mobilise young people to wage a concerted fight against the apartheid regime and all its attempts to suppress our people.
Mr Shiceka was involved in various anti-apartheid structures. Among the illustrious list of his contributions, he was branch Chairperson of the Congress of South African Students in Soweto in 1980 and a Member of the Gauteng leadership structure of the Azanian Students Organisation in 1987. He was also involved in the labour union movement, and became an organiser for the Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union in 1989, and its provincial secretary in the 1990s.
I must indicate, hon Deputy Chairperson, that I worked with him during the United Democratic Front, UDF, period in the 1980s. I also worked with him in the movement in the 1990s and when I joined the legislature in Gauteng in 1999. I bear testimony to the good work that he did during that period.
He became the Deputy Chairperson of the ANC'S Kyalami region in 1993 and a member of the ANC Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee in 1996. He served as the Gauteng Development Planning and Local Government MEC, following the first democratic elections in 1994.
After the 2004 elections, Mr Shiceka joined the National Council of Provinces where he served as Chairperson of the Select Committee on Local Government, Constitutional Development and Administration. In 2008 he was appointed Minister of the Provincial and Local Government Department, which later became the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs. He held the position until 2011.
He has run the race, fought the fight and became the victor. All that awaits him is a crown from John Dube, Alfred Xuma, James Moroka, Albert Luthuli, OR Tambo, Lillian Ngoyi, Dorothy Nyembe and many other departed leaders of this glorious movement.
Setswana:
Re a re mogaka, robala ka kagiso.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): That concludes the condolence orations. Let us stand and observe a minute of silence.
The Council observed a moment of silence in honour of the late Mr Sicelo Shiceka.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): May his soul rest in peace!
Mr T M H MOFOKENG
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The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela)
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON SECURITY AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT – PROCLAMATIONS MADE IN TERMS OF SECTION 25 OF PROTECTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY AGAINST TERRORIST AND RELATED ACTIVITIES ACT, 2004 (ACT NO 33 OF 2004)
Mr T M H MOFOKENG: Thank you very much, Deputy Chair. This is the report of the Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Development with regard to the proclamations made by the President in terms of section 25 of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act, Act 33 of 2004.
The 11 September 2001 bombing of the United States of America has led to increasingly stringent sanctions. UN Security Council Resolution 1267 of 1999 established the Security Council 1267 Sanctions Committee, which was responsible for updating a list of known terror entities. Their main focus was on the Taliban and Al Qaeda, as well as entities associated with them.
It also established a UN Counter-Terrorism Committee, which deals with the collection of information on terrorist organisations; decides on appropriate measures to take; makes reports to the UN Security Council on the impact of measures to be taken, including humanitarian implications; and identifies, where possible, persons or entities reported to be engaged in the violation of certain UN conventions.
The names of people suspected of financing, supporting, training for and supplying arms for acts of terrorism and related activities are placed on a consolidated list, which is compiled by consensus of the UN Security Council members, and notification is published on the Internet.
The member states serving on the 1267 Committee are responsible for freezing the funds and property of the listed entities, enforcing an arms embargo against them, and prohibiting travel for members of these entities.
Article 39 of Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, in regard to the UN Security Council, notes that:
The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security.
The UN Security Council, therefore, under Article 41:
... may decide what measures not involving the use of armed force are to be employed to give effect to its decisions, and it may call upon the Members of the United Nations to apply such measures. These may include complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations.
The UN Security Council, under Article 48, strengthens this decision by requiring that:
(1) The action required to carry out the decisions of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security shall be taken by all the Members of the United Nations or by some of them, as the Security Council may determine.
(2) Such decisions shall be carried out by the Members of the United Nations directly and through their action in the appropriate international agencies of which they are members.
In South Africa, the President of the Republic of South Africa, as the head of a member state, after the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee has published the list of names and entities associated with terrorism, publishes the names by proclamation in the Government Gazette.
The published proclamation informs the public that the Security Council, under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, has identified specific entities as being:
(a) entities who commit, or attempt to commit, any terrorist and related activity or participate in or facilitate the commission of any terrorist and related activity; or
(b) entities against whom Member States of the United Nations must take the actions specified in the Resolutions of the said Security Council, in order to combat or prevent terrorist and related activities.
The Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Development supports the proclamations and recommends approval by the Council. I thank you.
Debate concluded.
Question put: That the Report be adopted.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Order! In accordance with Rule 71, I shall first allow provinces the opportunity to make a declaration of vote, if they so wish. [Interjections.] There are none.
I also remind all hon members here that we have been failed by the new system. We will therefore revert to the old system. Is that accepted?
HON MEMBERS: Yes.
IN FAVOUR: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape.
Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
Mr T E CHAANE
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 3 May 2012 Take: 42
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela)
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS – OVERSIGHT VISIT TO CONDITIONAL GRANT PROJECTS IN NORTH WEST
Sesotho:
Mr T E CHAANE: Modulasetulo ya kgabane, ditho tse kgabane, ke tlotla e kgolo le tlhompho ho tekela ntlo ena tlaleho ya rona ya leeto la tekolo Profensing ya Lebowa Bophirima. Komiti e Kgethehileng ya Dikabo e etetse Profensi ya Lebowa Bophirima ka letsatsi la 11 Mphalane 2011, mme ya hlwaya Lefapha la Bophelo bo Botle, Lefapha la Bonono, Dipapadi le Setso, hammoho Lefapha la Mesebetsi ya Setjhaba, Mebila le Dipalangwang e le mafapha ao diporojeke tsa ona di lokelang ho etelwa.
Komiti e ile ya teana le Letona Hlomane Chauke le Letona Magome Masike, ba neng ba emetse Lefapha la Bonono, Dipapadi le Setso, mme le Lefapha la Bophelo bo Botle ka tatelano. MEC ya ikarabellang Lefapheng la Mesebetsi ya Setjhaba, Mebila le Dipalangwang ha ka a finyella ntle le lebaka. Lefapha la Bophelo bo Botle le tlalehile diporojeke tse latelang: ntlafatso ya Sepetlele sa Bophelong sa Mahloko a Kelello; ntlafatso ya Sepetlele sa General De La Rey; ntlafatso ya Sepetlele Vryburg; le ya Sepetlele sa Moses Kotane.
Lefapha la Bonono, Dipapadi le Setso le fane ka tlaleho diporojekeng tse latelang: kaho ya Laeborari ya Utlwanang Masepaleng wa Sebaka sa Lekwa Teemane; kaho ya Laeborari ya Setjhaba ya Boikhutso Masepaleng wa Sebaka sa Ditsobotla; kaho ya Laeborari ya Ipelegeng Masepaleng wa Sebaka sa Mamusa; Kaho ya Laeborari ya Khuma Masepaleng wa Sebaka sa Matlosana.
Kamorao ha dipuisano le mafapha ka diporojeke tse boletsweng komiti e hlwaile Sepetlele sa Bophelong sa Mahloko a Kelello, Sepetlele sa General De La Rey, le Laeborari ya Ipelegeng e le diporojeke tse lokelang ho etelwa. Ka bomadimabe, Matona a mafapha ka bobedi ba ile ba tlaleha hore ha ho tlhokeho ya hore komiti e etele diporojeke tsena hobane ha ho mosebetsi o entsweng. Lefapha la Bonono, Dipapadi le Setso le tlalehile hore seo mafapha a se entseng ke ho fetisetsa tjhelete bomasepaleng, ntle le ho beha mekgwa e tshwanetseng ya tekolo ho netefatsa boikamahanyo dipehelong. Ka lebaka leo ditjhelete tseo di ile tsa tshwepholelwa mesebetsing e meng ka hare ho bomasepala.
Lefapha la Bophelo bo Botle le llile ka hore diporojeke tsohle tse fatalletseng ke ka lebaka la mekgwa-tsamaiso e mebe le bonyofonyofo kahara bolaodi ba phumantsho. Maemo ana a ile a tlalehwa mafapheng a naha a tshwanetseng, jwalo ka ha e le bafani ba ditjhelete tsa dithuso tsa dipehelo tse amehang, bakeng sa tlhokomelo le tshekatsheko ya mehato e lokelang ho nkuwa ho lokisa maemo ana. Komiti ha e so fumane tlaleho ho tswa profensing kapa mafapheng ana a naha, ntle le ho re Lefapha la Bophelo bo Botle le se le thakgotse diphuputso tsa forensiki tabeng eo. Komiti e Kgethehileng ya Dikabo e tla tsebiswa ka sephetho haufinyane. Taba ena e tla boela e salwa morao ho phethela ditaba tsena.
Ka hoo ke tekela ntlo ena tlaleho ntlheng eo ho e sekaseka.
Dikgomo! [Mahofi.]
English:
Debate concluded.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Hon members, I would like to explain that while the system has failed us, there was translation later in the process, I understand. Please bear with me. There is nothing that I can do if it packs up! Thank you. I hope that that is accepted.
Question put: That the report be adopted.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Order! In accordance with Rule 71 I shall first allow provinces the opportunity to make a declaration of vote, if they so wish. [Interjections.] There are none.
IN FAVOUR: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape.
Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): Hon members, we now come to the Subject for Discussion as printed on the Order Paper. We will follow the speakers' list.
The MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 3 May 2012 Take: 43
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela)
WORKERS' DAY DEBATE: ADVANCING OUR NATIONAL EFFORTS TO MAKE MINE SAFETY A BUSINESS IMPERATIVE IN OUR MINES
(Subject for Discussion)
The MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES: Hon Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, I have just been injured on duty!
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms T C Memela): My apologies, hon Minister! [Laughter.]
The MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES: Hon Deputy Chairperson, hon Chairperson of the Select Committee on Economic Development hon Adams, and hon members of the NCOP, we are gathered here today to mark a very special day, and we are proud of and thankful for the sacrifices and struggles of the working class. This is a day that evokes the memorable thoughts of Karl Marx, who called on workers of the world to unite, for they had "nothing to lose but (their) chains".
The celebrations that mark the beginning of 1 May, which are held universally on what some people call Labour Day, lead one to think of the billions of people on this planet who, day in and day out, work to keep the wheels of industry turning – mining, agriculture, the trades and other avenues of working life.
This is also a moment to reflect on the inequalities and exploitation which, in various theatres of the world, still grossly prejudice working people in their daily lives, and further serve to impoverish the poor especially.
To mark this day we acknowledge that those who celebrated it in the past were committed to achieving a better world, with decent jobs, less onerous hours of work and improved wages – we salute them! They managed, in historic campaigns and protests, to reduce what was once a 10 or 12-hour working day to eight hours or even less, giving workers adequate time and the chance to improve their quality of life with their families and loved ones, and to indulge in their natural hunger for learning, knowledge and teaching. They managed to do all this while pushing up rates of production, and gaining for all working people increased status and meaning in society. In short, they kept the world going and helped to change it for the better.
Yet this planet is now host to no fewer than 7 billion people, so the scale of the problems ahead is obvious.
It is a cause for celebration that since the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, Workers' Day has been celebrated on the first day of May every year. The public holiday, enjoyed with families and friends, provides a respite from the battles that our workers, in common with workers in other parts of the world, have waged for their rights and social justice. Yet this day is also a reminder of the many challenges that still confront working people and the poor in South Africa, challenges which remain obstacles to sustainable human development.
The South African working class have been at the forefront of the struggle for a democratic, nonracial, nonsexist, prosperous and united nation. They have grasped the point that workplace struggles cannot be separated from broader social struggles, and that economic justice and equality cannot be achieved without national liberation.
In the year of the 18th anniversary of our political breakthrough, and the 30th anniversary of the historic 1973 Durban strike, we pay tribute to the millions of workers who fought for a truly democratic South Africa. We salute the many who sacrificed so much, so that all South Africans could enjoy rights of citizenship in their own country.
This day also falls close to the commemoration of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, which was on Saturday, 28 April 2012, a day when millions of people around the globe worked collaboratively to promote the prevention of occupational incidents and diseases. Championed by the International Labour Organisation, the day aims to raise awareness of occupational safety and health, and the magnitude of work-related injuries, diseases and fatalities worldwide.
It is also a day on which the world's trade union movement holds its International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers, to honour the memory of victims of occupational incidents and diseases.
These are not statistics – they are fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters who were entrusted to industries as healthy individuals. Their loved ones could fully expect to welcome them home free of disease and injury, but they suffered death doing an honest day's work.
About a hundred years ago Sol Plaatjie, the first secretary-general of the ANC, described the lives of mine employees as follows, and I quote:
... 200,000 subterranean heroes who by day and by night, for a mere pittance, lay down their limbs and their lives to the familiar "fall of rock" and who, at deep levels ranging from 1,000 feet to 1,000 yards in the bowels of the earth, sacrifice their lungs to the rock dust which develops miners' phthisis(, silicosis) and pneumonia.
It is astounding that since Sol Plaatjie's observations close to 75 000 mine workers have died, and more than 1 million have been seriously injured as a result of accidents in the mining sector. It is estimated that many more have lost their lives as a result of tuberculosis, silicosis and other poor health conditions in the mines.
The mining industry has for decades been the backbone of our economy and a major provider of employment in South Africa, but the benefits of these contributions to development have always been overshadowed by the industry's poor health and safety records.
Workers in the mines have endured harsh working conditions, including crowded living in single-sex hostels, poor health and safety measures, and separation from their family members. The migrant labour system was once called a cancer, which indeed it was. Even today this sector's commitment to the health and safety of workers and communities affected by mining is questionable. This must change and death, injury and disease must be rooted out of mining.
You will recall that in the period before 1994 the mining industry used to report no less than 500 fatalities per annum due to occupation-related injuries. However, we recognise and commend the fact that there has been downward trend since 1994. I can report, with a tinge of optimism but also deep regret, hon members, that during 2011 a total of 123 mine workers were reported as having died, compared to 127 in 2010, which translates to about a 3% improvement in the actual number of mine workers who died year on year.
The breakdown of the above-mentioned 123 mine deaths per commodity reported in 2011 is as follows: gold, 51; platinum, 37; coal, 12; and other commodities, 23 in those mines. Other mines include diamonds, chrome and iron ore. The major gold and platinum mines are the main contributors of accidents and loss of life. This is regrettable, as it is expected that these mines should have the appropriate measures and expertise to enhance health and safety.
So far in 2012 we have lost 39 lives in the South African mining industry, as compared to 42 in 2011. I am giving these statistics to show the comparison. We are hardly halfway in the year, and already 39 lives have been lost. The number of mine injuries has been reduced by 35%, from 1024 in 2011 to 668 in 2012. Fall of ground accidents still remain the largest accident category and the predominant cause of fatalities, followed by transportation and machinery accidents.
However, there are more deaths in the industry as a result of occupational health diseases than occupational injuries. The recent Constitutional Court silicosis judgement, in the case between the late Mr Mankayi and AngloGold Ashanti, and the litigation in the United Kingdom against Anglo American, highlight the importance of having effective control measures in place to deal with occupational health hazards at the mines.
The health impacts are only visible long after the exposure. Hence the tendency for miners not to be given the immediate attention they deserve. Exposure to silica dust is the main concern, as it leads to silicosis and, as we all know, that leads to lung cancer. It further predisposes miners to tuberculosis, TB, and TB has thus remained a challenge in the mining industry. HIV/Aids has increased the incidence of TB substantially. Lastly, there is noise exposure, leading to noise-induced hearing loss, which is also quite debilitating, as it results in permanent disability and incapacitation.
Although there has been an improvement in the number of fatalities, my department is still greatly concerned at the continued loss of lives in our mines. The department is responsible for enforcing the provisions of the Mine Health and Safety Act to ensure the achievement of the objective of zero harm. The extraction of the mineral wealth of our country should be done without killing, maiming or causing any occupational ill health and diseases.
Hence the department has adopted a principled approach of closing unsafe working areas or mines in terms of section 54 of the Mine Health and Safety Act, which is very unpopular with and unpleasant to employers. This is to ensure that employers take appropriate measures that will prevent harm to mine employees. There has been a significant improvement in health and safety since the department intensified the enforcement measures at mines. In fact, in the month of April 2012 the lowest number of fatalities was recorded – only three deaths occurred, as compared to other monthly figures in history where there were generally more than 11 deaths per month.
Health and safety in the mining industry could also improve significantly and in a sustainable manner, if all chief executive officers, CEOs, of mining companies were to display more visible leadership at the mines. This would also go a long way in demonstrating the value of caring for mining employees, which they always talk about. Therefore, CEOs are urged to be more involved and visible in their respective mining operations, including when there is a fatality.
There is also a need to ensure that accidents and occupational diseases are reduced through the adoption of advanced technologies, the leading practices available, and the immense research that has been done and is still ongoing through the Mine Health and Safety Council and other agencies, both locally and internationally. Employers have to ensure that leading practices are adopted by all mines. Some mines had been investigating this matter for far too long, and yet they have proof that adopting it has led to a significant improvement in other operations.
In the late 19th century, since the birth of the modern mining industry, single-sex hostels have been a significant feature of the labour system on the mines. The houses and living conditions of many workers on the mines were of a substandard nature, adversely impacting on their health, productivity and social wellbeing.
The hostel system for black mine workers was run on racial and ethnic clan lines. Migrant labourers, on the other hand, were affected by these conditions to a greater extent, as they were denied a normal family life. They were subjected to poor living conditions in single-sex hostels, resulting in social disruptions. This also contributed largely to the provenance and spread of HIV/Aids and TB in South Africa.
Government and stakeholders have acknowledged that the development of acceptable and sustainable housing and living conditions for mine workers can be realised through private sector involvement in the upgrading of hostels to decent single accommodation and the conversion of hostels to family housing, as part of improving the housing and living conditions of mine workers in terms of the reviewed Mining Charter.
A two-day summit was held in November 2011 to review the state of health and safety in the mining sector. During the summit, the government, unions and business made commitments which will address silicosis, noise-induced hearing loss, TB, HIV/Aids, and the general health of employees. The department, in collaboration with the Departments of Health and Labour, organised labour, employers and other relevant stakeholders, will monitor the situation through the Mine Health and Safety Council to ensure that the summit commitments and action plans are implemented.
There is also a need to ensure that mine workers have the knowledge and skills to exercise their right to withdraw from or to refuse to work in dangerous, unhealthy, risky or hazardous environments.
We very often compare the number of fatalities, draw trend lines, do regression analysis and so on, in regard to the health and safety data, and that is important. However, it does not speak to the pain and suffering that has to be endured by the relatives of the deceased miners. [Time expired.] Thank you. [Applause.]
Ms M P THEMBA
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 3 May 2012 Take: 44
The MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES
Ms M P THEMBA: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and hon members, allow me to take a moment to pay homage and tribute to millions of workers around the world and in our land for their tireless efforts and dedication. From the inception of International Workers' Day on the dusty streets of Chicago in 1886 and the subsequent first congress of the Second International in Paris, workers around the world have been a formidable force and voice for social justice, equality, freedom and democracy.
In South Africa, the trade union movement remained in the forefront of our national fight against apartheid and all its elements in all their guises. Mines across South Africa served as a mobilising platform against apartheid and capitalist exploitation. In fact, mining in our country was the main driving force behind the history and development of Africa's richest economy, from the discovery of a diamond on the banks of the Orange River in 1867 to the subsequent discovery and exploitation of the Kimberley pipes a few years later.
Together with the hundreds of mine workers in our country, we fought against the atrocities of the apartheid regime and its forces. We waged a concerted and determined fight against apartheid in South Africa and across the African continent. We can say with the utmost certainty that, together with mine workers and workers in general, we won our greatest victory against apartheid and oppression. We put an end to legislated racism and racial settlement in the workplace and in our society. In songs and dances hundreds of metres underground, we spoke against the exploitation of the poor, in particular African and migrant workers, in the workplace and in the very communities where they lived. It was these songs and dances that continued to educate and mobilise our people and the people of the world against the atrocities of apartheid and the exploitation that many of our people endured.
Today, we celebrate together with the workers of our country and the African continent the victories of our joint efforts to build a better South Africa. We celebrate our shared commitment to breaking with the past and creating a new order for improvements in working conditions, health and safety in the workplace, and wages.
We celebrate because we no longer have a government that sees some among the citizens of our land as not deserving of the same rights and treatment as others. The basic amenities of a dignified life that were denied to the majority of South Africans are now reaching millions of our people, irrespective of their race, gender, social status and location, whether it be access to clean water, electricity, health care, decent education or housing.
Workers have been champions of development in our communities. They have worked tirelessly together with our communities and the government to develop the areas in which we live. They have been part and parcel of building many democratic structures, such as community police forums, as part of the anticrime campaign; school governing bodies, as part of our national quest to encourage parents and communities to assist us in delivering quality education to our people; and local economic development forums, to give our people a voice in our national efforts to develop our communities and create programmes that respond to their needs. We can therefore say we have a lot to celebrate with our workers today.
As we move with speed to advance our democracy and put into action our national programme to build a better life for all, we count on organised workers to continue to keep the wheel in motion in order to strengthen all our efforts and programmes. We count on workers to continue to support our national offensives against crime, drugs, corruption, and violence against women and children. Workers and their unions are also indispensable to our efforts to deracialise our economy. In fact, they are the heart and engine of our national efforts to build a better South Africa and a better life for all.
One of the most urgent and critical challenges facing our country is the creation of more jobs and waging war against poverty and unemployment. Many among the masses of our people are unemployed, with no guarantee that they will get a decent job tomorrow. As was once said by Isithwalandwe, former President Rolihlahla Mandela:
Poverty is a nightmare of our democracy. It is a vicious circle of poor health, reduced working capacity, low productivity and shortened life expectancy. It leads to inadequate schooling, low skills, insecure income, early parenthood, ill health and early death.
These masses expect of us that every day, and wherever we may be, we will continue to speak out and act against poverty and unemployment. As we celebrate Workers' Day today, we want nationally to call on all the workers of South Africa to join our national efforts to create jobs and fight poverty and unemployment in our country. We call on workers to continue in their efforts to work with our government to ensure that the new democratic order in our country does everything possible to extricate the needy from their miserable conditions of poverty, unemployment, poor health, crime and underdevelopment.
Many of our hon members will agree with the ANC when we say that all these efforts will be in vain and fruitless if our workers continue to die in such high numbers as we have seen. Our shared joy of a partnership that has led to the creation of a South Africa envied by many nations across the world is short-lived and rendered useless while we continue to see some of the most disheartening and inhumane conditions facing workers in the workplace, especially in the mines. We want to say today, and affirm to the utmost, that this must be stopped.
As the theme of our debate today says, it is high time that we have a collective quest for "advancing our national efforts to make mine safety a business imperative in our mines". It is this clarion call that we rise to make to all mine owners in South Africa.
It is time that mine owners invest in the safety of our people. It is high time that mine owners value the lives of our people. It is high time that mine owners recognise that mine workers are indispensable to our efforts to ensure that our economy remains vibrant and able to assist us to address some of the challenges facing our people.
We want to say to mine owners it is high time that they stop seeing our people as part of their commodities that will enrich them. They must stop using every way they possibly can to exploit them, and stop subjecting them to some of the most atrocious and inhumane conditions that violate every right of a living human being.
We want to make an appeal to all mine owners to know that it is the miners who ensure that our country thrives and is among the best in the world, with a really vibrant economy. It is mine workers who mine the minerals that our nation exports to the global community, minerals that fuel our growth. It is the hundreds of mine workers who support our national efforts to fight poverty and underdevelopment in the rural areas by putting food on the tables of hundreds of poor households. It is the salaries of mine workers that send many children from poor households to school and allow them to access health care and even higher education institutions.
It is many of these families and households that on a daily basis have the greatest worry and pray for the safety of their loved ones, because for them they are the way to a better future. It is these millions of innocent lives that are destroyed, people who are made to face a bleak future because of irresponsible decisions that mine owners take. It is these thousands of people and households who expect us to ask the hon Minister to ensure that she takes away the mining licence of every mine owner who shows utter disregard for the lives of mine workers in our country. It is the masses of families of those who work in mines across South Africa. I thank you.
Mr K A SINCLAIR
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 3 May 2012 Take: 45
Ms M P THEMBA
Mr K A SINCLAIR: Hon Chairperson, it is a privilege to participate in this debate, and this Minister's debate is one of my favourites, for obvious reasons.
Official statistics have not been released regularly, but some industry sources indicate that the death toll reached the 140 mark in 2009, an average of 11 deaths per month. According to the current mortality rate provided by the trade union, Solidarity, one mineworker dies in South Africa every second day. While there has been significant improvement in mine safety in the past decade, the consensus is that one death is one too many.
In general there is a need for more proactive, preventative mine safety measures. In this context we need to look at instances of marginal mines, some of which are barely profitable and where there is a tendency to neglect mine safety. Also, there has been a general concern in the industry that contractors are not on the same level in the matter of safety as full-time employees.
Whilst recognising that mine accidents repeatedly take place due to reasons beyond the control of mining companies, in the case of seismic activity it is poor safety decisions that play a significant part in mining deaths.
Now, in addressing the critical issues, we firstly want to submit that the quality of mine inspections by the Department of Mineral Resources needs to improve. Secondly, mine managers put additional pressure on supervisors to chase increasing product targets, and that has an impact on the safety of the workers. Thirdly, South African mines should invest in the technology used in almost all other mining countries to predict seismic activity, so that underground workers can be evacuated when the risk is high. Fourthly, there should be closer monitoring and scrutiny of marginal mines which lend themselves to asset stripping due to underinvestment in appropriate safety measures. The Aurora Empowerment Systems fiasco is a prime example of poor mine management and neglect of worker safety. Lastly, as mining companies go deeper for extraction, so occupational hazards increase. There is a need to ensure that mining companies compensate workers appropriately for injuries and postretirement illnesses suffered due to excessive exposure to mineral dust and associated chemical components.
Investment in mine safety must be seen as a business imperative and not just as an additional cost to business. There should be more detailed reporting in the annual reports of mining houses related to improvements and sustainability practices in the area of mine safety. Likewise, the corporate social investment of mining houses should reflect financial commitment to ex-miners affected by mining-related diseases but still of working age, by way of providing or investing in suitable income opportunities. I thank you, hon Chairperson.
Mr M P JACOBS
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 3 May 2012 Take: 45
Mr K A SINCLAIR
Mr M P JACOBS: Hon House Chair, hon Minister, all protocol observed, I am indeed grateful to take part in this very important debate that relates to the profound yet tragic story of our mining sector and the atrocious conditions facing many mine workers across South Africa.
I refer to the story of our mining sector as profound because it is a story that narrates the development of our economy from its infancy to the current vibrant and resilient economy that is the envy of many countries across the world.
Today, mining remains the main driving force behind the history and development of our vibrant economy. On average, mining contributes 20% of South Africa's GDP and remains one of the country's major employers, with more than one million people in mining-related employment.
South Africa has the largest reserves of chrome, gold, vanadium, manganese, and six precious metals that are commonly known in the mining sector as the platinum-group metals, PGMs. We remain the leading producer of nearly all of Africa's metal and mineral production.
The story of our mining sector brings with it very sad tales of how many families lost their loved ones under the atrocious and harsh working conditions in some of our mines. Indeed, this is a reality that many of our mine workers continue to endure even today.
Mine workers face the extremely harsh reality of working under utterly atrocious and undignified conditions. They work and live in poorly ventilated conditions that expose them to tuberculosis and other chest infections.
Health care for mine workers is often poor. Screening for communicable diseases such as TB is inconsistent and unverified. Migration back and forth between home and mine, coupled with poor health care services and monitoring, reduces the likelihood of diagnosis and increases the chance of treatment interruption and failure.
In a study published in 2010, titled "Mining and Risk of Tuberculosis in Sub-Saharan Africa", researchers at Oxford and Brown Universities estimate that the mining industry in Africa accounts for 750 000 TB infections every year and the largest share of this is from the Southern African region.
Although there has been a marked reduction in fatalities in our mines, our mines still have poor safety records and remain a death trap for mine workers. The Chamber of Mines of South Africa reports that in 1995 a total of 533 mine workers died in our mines and that this figure dropped to 199 in 2006. Of these, falls of ground dominated the causes of death, at 72 deaths; machinery, transportation and mining accidents caused 70 deaths; and the remainder were classed as general deaths.
What is even more worrying is that, amongst the machinery, mining and transportation fatalities in our mines, there were miners working on grizzlies without safety belts, and working below loose rocks in ore passes. Many of these were crushed by the deadly combination of a loco and a ventilation door frame and working on running conveyors, which are an indication of the serious safety contraventions that take place in our mines. In some instances, miners die due to drilling into misfires, which is also a clear example of sloppy and unsafe mining.
Today we want to say to the hon Minister: there should be zero tolerance of death in the mines! We are making a passionate plea to you and your department to wage a war against mine owners who show utter disregard for the safety of our people. We need to put our shoulders to the wheel to put an end to the atrocities that mine owners perpetrate against our people.
We need to clamp down on unscrupulous mine owners who continue to demonstrate utter disregard for the rights and safety of our people. We need to expand our monitoring systems by enhancing the work of the Inspectorate of Mine Health and Safety, in order to stop the utter disregard of, and the violation of the provisions of, the Mine Health and Safety Act by mine owners.
Let us join hands to advance "our national efforts to make mine safety a business imperative in our mines" and make those who dare hinder our efforts pay the highest price. I thank you.
Ms T MORAKA (Limpopo)
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 3 May 2012 Take: 46
Mr M P JACOBS
Ms T MORAKA (Limpopo): Madam Chair, the hon Minister of Mineral Resources Comrade Susan Shabangu and hon members, my speech would be incomplete if I did not mention the following historic and heroic events, led by workers, which truly changed the course of politics in South Africa. They were the Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union, ICU, of Clements Kadalie, the 1946 mine workers' strike and the 1973 Durban workers' strike. They also led to the formation of today's gigantic Cosatu.
I stand here today in this most honourable House as a young person from rural Limpopo, as a daughter of the property-less class, as an African and, most importantly, as a worker. I am able to stand here today in this House not taking this situation lightly, for I know where this country comes from and I know the blood with which this country was bought.
We know indeed how long and hard the road has been. From the underground mines of Johannesburg in the 1800s, to the belly of the Kimberley mines at the turn of the last century, to the farmworkers of our province, which is rural Limpopo, to the Western Cape and the roar of the United Democratic Front, and to Cosatu throughout the 1980s, the workers have never been silent.
Indeed, decades ago we managed to label and throw away the sins of a so-called civilisation that aimed to define some as superior and others as inferior, enforcing a master-slave relationship that was never going to be accepted. We were able to throw away that which poisoned our relationships in developing this country, and as a result of that we are now able to work together to create a better life for our people. We are also grateful for the struggle by workers, who kept the home fires burning in the face of brutal repression and an environment of fear.
I also stand here today knowing that many young people like me face hardships that we dare not forget. It remains a concern that as we celebrate May Day we remember the reality of the growing number of young men and women who have never entered the work sphere, while others continue to perish in the mines because the bourgeois are more concerned with profits than the safety of their workers.
South Africa currently has a very high unemployment rate. This is a reality that we know, and it is also one that we know the government is fighting very hard to push back. Currently, of the total number of people who are unemployed, the bulk, the majority of 73%, are the youth, and Africans in particular. These are young people aged between 18 and 35 who, despite their qualifications, have never entered the job market. We thus have 7,5 million people out of a total of 49 million who are unemployed.
As such, we as the youth and as women welcome the projects in the process of job creation. We know the dignity that work brings, for it is through secure employment that one can afford a better life and decent living conditions for oneself and for future generations.
Taking this as a point of departure, we are also proud of the role played by the workers in the struggle for our freedom. We know that in the face of the terrifying apartheid state our alliance partners fought fearlessly for the workers, with many of them, such as Dulcie September, David Webster, the Mxenges and the Cradock Four, in the process paying the ultimate price. Many did not live to see their 40th birthdays, because their lives were ultimately sacrificed for the freedoms that we enjoy today.
The increased pressure that was exerted, both politically and economically, by the workers through various trade unions eventually brought the apartheid state to its knees. South Africa's economic boom of the late 1960s, at the time second only to Japan, was considerably weakened by the dedication and the clear vision of the workers.
We thus celebrate this day and believe that in moving forward we will create a better South Africa for all and that we will work ever harder at closing the gap between the employed and the unemployed, while at the same time protecting the gains of the workers that have been so valiantly fought for.
As we celebrate Workers' Day, we also take pride in the achievements so far of our government led by the ANC. We are gaining more hope and more faith as we see new jobs being created. Indeed, at 23,9% our unemployment rate is at its lowest since the 2008 financial crisis. We have seen 365 000 new jobs being created, and we have faith that with the bulk infrastructure projects under way we will see many more being created. The billions of rands allocated to the new industrial and manufacturing projects, as well as the investments in rail and transportation projects, should indeed go a long way towards giving our young people the chance to access a better life and to experience in reality the dignity that work brings to life.
In conclusion, Madam Chair, I would like to remind this hon House of the words of Comrade Karl Marx, who said that the workers must remain relevant and called for the unity of workers all over the world in order to engage and ultimately defeat the inhuman system of capitalism, which is driven by profit and profit alone – nothing else. I conclude by quoting Marx's call for unity: "Workers of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains." I thank you.
Mrs E C VAN LINGEN
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 3 May 2012 Take: 47
Ms T MORAKA (Limpopo)
Mrs E C VAN LINGEN: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and colleagues, the first time the Minister and I met we were talking about zama zama. Today we are on a better footing, I think! Worldwide Worker's Day is always celebrated on 1May. This year the theme for the debate in the NCOP is health and safety in the mining industry.
It is a statutory mandate of the Department of Mineral Resources, according to the Mine Health and Safety Act, Act 29 of 1996, to safeguard the health and safety of mining employees and communities affected by mining operations.
Our mineral wealth ranks the highest internationally, with estimated reserves valued at US$2,5 billion. Statistics SA indicates that the industry employs in excess of 500 000 workers. It is therefore an industry to be developed for the much needed jobs and economic development it provides, but at the same time mine workers must be protected, their safety guaranteed and their health and wellbeing safeguarded. Balance and perspective are required.
The Commission of Inquiry into Safety and Health in the Mining Industry, led by Judge Leon, reported in 1995 that no less than 69 000 mining-related deaths had occurred during the mining boom of the 20th century. The careless mining operations of the 20th century had also left more than one million people injured and physically disabled.
Mining in South Africa is very technical, carrying a high risk and having to go to record-breaking depths in the earth's crust to extract the mineral wealth. We can't allow the safety of mine workers to be compromised. Although the mining companies aim to have mining safety on a par with developed countries like Canada, Australia and the United States by 2013, Dr Philip Frankel, author of the mine safety work Falling Ground, questions the realisation, as well as the sustainability, of the target.
The industry is well regulated, but effective implementation is wanting. The abuse of section 54 stoppages causes production losses, as shown in the report by Royal Bafokeng Platinum, with losses of 61 600 tons on 25 April 2012, when seven section 54 notices were issued. Nineteen production shifts were affected. On 13 February 2012, Anglo American Platinum reported 81 section 54 stoppages for the year at production losses of 109 000 ounces of platinum.
Are improved statistics on mining injuries and fatalities directly related to the interventions of the Ministry, or are they due to the commitment by mine companies? Does the Department of Mineral Resources have a sufficient number of qualified mining safety inspectors employed to service the industry to prevent unnecessary section 54 stoppages?
Minister, I am not going to repeat the fatality rates, because you have already referred to them, and our statistics compare favourably. Then, 4 500 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis, TB, were reported by mines in 2010. There is no indication of improvement during the previous reporting period. The total number of noise-induced hearing loss cases reported in 2010 was 1 200 and the number of silicosis occupational diseases was 1 700.
The Aurum Institute and the London of School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine are conducting tests on miners in South Africa for their vaccine-type medicines known as isoniazid preventive therapy, ITP, to prevent infection. Initial results have proved promising, reducing the risk of infection, but unfortunately it appears that when you stop administering the drug, you can get TB again.
Many mine workers carry TB, but only 10% develop the active disease. People living with HIV are up to 37 times more likely to develop TB. Miners are at high risk of silicosis and TB due to poor working and living conditions. Hon Minister, you said that South African miners suffer three times as many cases of active TB as the general population. In gold mining, up to 25% of miners have silicosis. Many affected mine workers retire early and return to deep rural areas with access only to very basic health care.
Some 450 mine workers are at the moment suing the local subsidiary of Anglo American in London for contracting silicosis and silicotuberculosis from exposure to dangerous levels of dust in the company's South African gold mines.
Minister, we question your policy of approving the appointment of unqualified occupational health practitioners at mines. Alexkor is a perfect example. The specifications and requirements for these positions are well regulated, but it is the implementation of regulations that is a major concern.
What are we doing to reconcile the position of these mine workers past and present? How do we redress the dire ...
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms N W Magadla): Hon member, your time has expired.
Mrs E C VAN LINGEN: In closing, ...
Mr R J TAU: As she closes, can she take a question?
Mrs E C VAN LINGEN: Can I close?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms N W Magadla): No, you mustn't close – your time is up. [Applause.]
Prince M M M ZULU
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 3 May 2012 Take: 47
Mrs E C VAN LINGEN
IsiZulu:
Umntwana M M M ZULU: Sihlalo, ngiyabonga kakhulu ukuba ngithole leli thuba. Mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe, dadewethu siyayazi impilo yasezimayini -okuyimpilo esiphila kuyona thina eziyinzalelwane yabantu ababesebenza ezimayini. Okusemqoka-ke futhi engizwile ukubeka enkulumeni yakho wukunakekelwa kodadewethu nabafowethu abasebenza emigodini yasezimayini, ngizwile futhi ukuthi uthe bayanekekelwa.
Ngicela ukuthi uMnyango wakho ukanye noMnyango wezeMisebenzi yoMphakathi nowezeMpilo ube nohlelo lokuvakashela njalo ezimayini ukuyobheka ukuthi ngabe izindawo abantu abasebenze kuzo ziphephile yini ngoba lezi zingozi ezikhona kufuneka ukuthi zigwenywe. Kumele kuqikelelwe ukuthi abanikazi bezimayini banakekela ukuphepha kwabantu. Lezi zimayini ezingekho emthethweni osekwagujwa kuzo kwaqedwa umsebenzi imigodi yakhona yashiywa ingavaliwe, bese kutholakale abantu sebeyazimbela nje ngokungekho emthemthweni. Ngezinye zezinto zonke eziyaye zithinte umuntu kakhulu enhlizinyweni.
Kubalulekile ukufundisa abasebenzi ngokuphepha. Ngiyacabanga ukuthi udadewethu unikezwe lo msebenzi wokubhekana nezimbiwa phansi ngoba kufuneka kube nokubambisana phakathi kwemiNyango enisebenzisana nayo.
Kufuneka kubanjiswane ngoba ukugxeka angeke kwaphela kodwa kufuneka siqinisekise ukuthi abantu bakithi baphephile. Usuku lwabasebenzi usuku olubaluleke kakhulu ezweni esisuka kulona eminyakeni eyishumi nesishiyagalombili eyedlule la abasebenzi babe yizinto ezingelutho nje, babesebenza bangabi nandlela yokukhalaza. Babexoshwa ngoba kwakungekho lapho bevikeleke khona njengabasebenzi. Kwakungekho okuphoqelela abaqashi ukuba bagcine imisebenzi iphephile. Singeke sayeka ukusho ukuthi kukhona okuhle okwenzekile kodwa singeke sayeka futhi ukuthi noma ngabe kukhona okuhle okwenzekile kukhona okufuneka kubhekwe kwenziwe. Nathi emakhaya eHlobane siyadinga ukuthi kubhekwe ukuthi zingeke yini zivulwe lezo mayini ukuze abantu bakithi bakwazi ukusebenza. Ngiyabonga.
Mr B A MNGUNI
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 3 May 2012 Take: 48
Prince M M M Zulu
Mr B A MNGUNI: Thank you, Chair. We celebrated Workers' Day on Monday, and the topic we are debating today is how to make safety an imperative requirement for our mines. Speaking as a former miner, let me say that in most cases in which there are fatalities on the mines there is the fall of ground, as the media have said.
Madam, tramming is where we transport the ore, the rock containing the mineral, from the digging places to the opuses that the hon Jacobs was talking about. Then we hoist it through the lift into the tips and into the plant. That is tramming and that is where most of the accidents happen.
On the "omakalanyana" – the small trains underground which we call "omakalanyana" – is where people get hurt, because some fall between the trains and are trampled. This happens to some when they are joining the trucks. There are lot of hoppers – we call them hoppers, all the little trains, or the little tips, that there are underground. There are people driving those trains, the "omakalanyana", underground and when you join them, it can happen that the person coupling or joining the trains gets trampled by the trains. That is where most of the accidents occur.
The key issue is that while technology and its various laws have advanced – it is 13 years since I left the mines – there has been very little progress as far as security is concerned, and making sure that there is a minimum fall of ground.
Fall of ground is basically caused by the type of rock that you are mining. In the Free State, and parts of the Western Reefs and of the East Rand, there is mostly what is called basal reef. The structure of basal reef contains silica and the rock that bears the gold, which is called the conglomerate. The layers of the latter in most cases differ in thickness from the thickness of a pencil to 10 cm. However, above that we have 0,6 m to 1,5 m quartzite, which is a hard rock that is composed of silica. That is where silicosis comes from. Above that there is shale, which is a very friable rock that is very soft. Between the Free State and the Vaal Reefs it ranges from 3 m to 4 m.
Now, what causes most of the rock falls is that that type of rock cannot actually be held tight by the roof bolts. What we drill into the hanging are called roof bolts. When we go underground there is just rock, and we drill into the hanging to make sure that the rocks don't fall on the people when they are working under them on the ground. The technology to hold the rock in place will take years to advance. We can drill up to 3 m, but if it reaches the friable rock, with time it will collapse. That is what causes most of what we call falls of ground.
In 2003, the mining sector and labour set the target that they would like to reduce fatalities in the mines by 20% year on year. In 2007 that target was reached by 4%. In 2003, 270 people died on the mines, but in 2007 only 129 people died. The target was exceeded by 4%. In 2011, as the Minister has said, 123 people died. That is a marginal improvement on safety in the mines, when we compare it with 270 fatalities in 2003.
Another key issue that has a direct impact on the mines is the attitude of the people working on the mines. When you go underground, there are five key rules that you must adhere to – lofive mthetho kalo mayini in Fanakalo. You must make sure that wherever you go you have a lamp. You must make sure that the place is safe. When you go underground you must make sure that all the hanging rock is removed, and that the people are working safely and that they continue working safely. Those are part of the five lo mthetho kalo mayini – five key rules underground.
This is important for the unions especially, and the mine bosses – particularly the chief bosses and the mine overseers – because these are the people who are actually working on the ground. It is important for them because of something else, the profits. The hon Sinclair said that the mine management must make sure that they put less pressure on the mine workers for profit. It is true that at the end of the day profits are what the mines are chasing, and that's what brings about lacks in regard to safety and people's working safely on the mines.
It is because they are always chasing a target. This is what we call a "call"; for instance, you must blast at least 100 m² per day. In order for you to understand this, 100 m² a day might be almost as big as half of this room. You will find that to make sure that they get that much rock, people don't put in proper support, and do not make sure that the hanging rock is properly barred. To remove all the hanging rock and put in support is called barring. For instance, according to gold mining standards, all the pegs – all the support – must be not more than 3 m from the face. That is according to gold mining standards. However, you find that at some places it's up to 4,5 m from the face. That is where you find that big slabs fall on people when they are working.
But on the other hand, as I said, it is the attitude. There are people who are working underground in the stopes, in the raises, and in the haulages. Some of them, because they are team leaders, would like to make a bonus at the end of the day. You cannot get a bonus unless you blast more square metres than the target. That is a problem that is pushing a lot of people to work as unsafely as they can, because at the end of the day they want to go home with a bonus and they cannot get that unless they've blasted more square metres. That is a reason why you find that there are lacks in safety. Unless we change that attitude, especially of mine bosses, of pushing people to produce more square metres as they are chasing profits, I think we will still lose the battle at some stage.
As we celebrate this Workers Day, let me come to the people who were working on the mines and who have been laid off from the mines. How do they make a living? Most of these people have worked underground. Some of them have acquired skills, but it is important that we re-skill these people so that they can continue making a living.
For instance, we have mechanics underground who look after the hoppers, omakalanyana, winding machines and winches. They are electricians, because these things use electricity to move.
When you blast there are the drillers, the "omshiniboys". That is a derogatory term, but they call them "omshiniboys", the rock drillers. They drill and then they charge all the holes that they have drilled. In order for those things to go off when they blast, you need people who have the skill to put in the charges and to connect the wires. Those people to some extent have a knowledge of electricity.
Then there are the people who insert the fans underground. It is very hot and you sweat there. So most of the time you get high temperatures, which are reduced by putting in fans. They are called "imfene" in Fanakalo. The people who put in the fans underground have some skills regarding how to connect them.
There are also the mechanics working with the rails, because those machines, the front-end loaders, go on rails. In the gold mines especially there are rails underground. Those people are able to put rails underground in a very nice way. So those are the skills that can be reused as we move towards infrastructure development. There are rails, I think, from Kuruman in the Northern Cape down to Saldanha bay. Those are the people we are thinking of in regard to re-skilling.
There are the Royal Bafokeng and labour-saving areas. We have the good example of Royal Bafokeng Platinum, where the people who live there have a share in the mining of the minerals. For instance, the Royal Bafokeng have 56,93%, and they own 93,82 million shares in the mines. That is another example of making sure that people who leave the mines still make a living and they can at least earn something from the mines.
The Freedom Charter states that the riches of the earth will be shared by all who live on the earth. I see that my time is up, Chairperson. Thank you.
The MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
Thursday, 3 May 2012 Take: 49
Mr B A MNGUNI
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms N W Magadla): Hon members, I think hon Mulaudzi is a special delegate from the North West. I now invite the Minister to wind up the debate.
The MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES: Thank you, Chairperson. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the House for their contributions. The contributions made by all members were most positive, which shows that the mining sector brings us together as South Africans. We share a common vision of how we can best make sure that the mining sector responds positively to the challenges we face in South Africa. However, the question of workers and safety is a priority.
I welcome and thank hon Mnguni very much for the lecture he gave in the House today! Thank you very much! It makes all of us understand and become "bush miners", who can then contribute positively. It really helps you. You know, bush miners are sometimes the best, because their knowledge tends to be much simpler and easier to understand than that of one who is theoretical and tends to implement matters in a way that does not take us forward.
I also welcome the hon Van Lingen's input in this process, making sure that all of us realise that we need to hold each other's hands and work together in ensuring that we achieve the objective of the Freedom Charter, which states that the wealth of the country must benefit all those who live in it. This is a process that will take all of us there.
The history of the mining industry cannot be underplayed in South Africa. It is a history that we have to correct. It is a history that must change, and we must make sure that South Africa's mining industry becomes a dignified one, a mining industry that any person in South Africa is able to access. So, hon members, it is not about me – it is about all of us changing the lives of our ordinary people, especially the mining communities, and also the sending towns where our miners come from.
I welcome the reference to the issue of ensuring that our young people participate. The issue of reskilling and continuously making sure that our young people in South Africa can find jobs and joy in the mining industry is imperative and we cannot underplay it. If we have to create sustainable development in our country, let everyone be skilled.
We have gone past the era where we had Fanakalo. We have gone past the era where you had to be a general worker. The mining industry has advanced. However, it cannot advance further when our people are left behind and are not skilled. Hence we will use the Mining Qualifications Authority, MQA, in making sure that our young people are skilled.
We are offering scholarships. I must indicate to the House that we have 24 young women to whom we have offered scholarships, and we are calling them ministerial girl children. In five years' time they will come out of university and be able to join the mining industry. [Applause.] Transformation in this country cannot be achieved if women are not going to be treated equally and to participate.
One of the issues is the safety of the women who are currently working in the mining industry. This is an imperative. We are going to continue supporting the NUM in an effort to create safety for women in the mining industry, where currently women are seen as secondary. Safety clothes for women are also part of the priority.
Qualifications are a priority to us. We are not going to compromise on that in the mining industry. We will not allow this industry to be a secondary sector in the economy of our country. It is a key sector and it contributes. We have to regard it in that way and make sure that skills are developed, and that it contributes continuously.
When it comes to the issue of share ownership, I must indicate that, if you look at the Mining Charter, one of the critical issues is that we say communities in surrounding areas must benefit. However, they cannot just benefit by having a crèche. They must benefit by our making sure that skills are taught to those local communities, and that employment is also created. They can also benefit from shareholding. If we are able to do that, we will see a different South Africa. We are not going to compromise on the Mining Charter; we will implement it in a way that takes us forward. The integration of communities with mining companies, and working together in terms of the Social and Labour Plan, are critical aspects that we are not going to compromise on.
I know inspection is hurting the mining companies, but we will make sure that the safety of workers is a priority. You know, there are those who believe that we must relax the inspection, but we are not going to do that; we are going to increase it. For the sake of our people, profits cannot be more important than the lives of our people. Zero tolerance, zero harm: that is our approach. We want to achieve our target in 2013. We are not going to compromise on the safety of workers. They are very important. As we have indicated, they have children and they have wives, and we can no longer have a mining sector which behaves like it did in the past. We have got to change.
If we say we must be a country that has been modernised, we cannot be such a modernised country while not recognising that workers' lives must also be modernised. The issue of living conditions for workers is critical and we are engaging with the mining companies in this regard. There is improvement, but we are not there yet. We need more. We have to scrap the migrant labour system. We must scrap single-sex hostels and there must be family units all over. We believe that if we are able to achieve that, this country will be different.
Young people must not see the mining sector as a sector which is not – what do they call it? They have their own language! They must not see it as "not sexy", if I can put it that way. [Laughter.] They must see it as a sector which can be "sexy" and also attract young people. If we can reach that point, we will have reached a point where we can say we are there and we have arrived. It cannot be that some can arrive and others can't. These are some of the issues where we have to make sure that we have a branded mining industry, an industry which can be attractive and be seen to attract any individual in our country.
The last point that I would like to make is that the House must help us. It must help our inspectors. We have inspectors, and capacity. The challenge is that when it comes to standards in the mining industry, they do self-regulation, and we judge them according to the standards that they have set for themselves. When we use section 54, we apply it on the basis of how they have regulated themselves. When we find that they are not compliant, they want to complain, but they have set their own standards, which they thought were best! When we cry foul, they think that we are stopping them and making them uneconomical.
However, we are not going to compromise. Lives are more important than profits. We cannot compromise, and we can no longer afford to have a situation where greater profit is made at the expense of the workers. Workers are important, workers are human beings, and the rights of workers must be respected by everyone in this country – these workers include the mine workers. They are no less human than the rest of the people in South Africa. This is the key issue. We will continue to haunt employers who do not comply. We will continue to make sure that they realise that red blood comes out of all of us when we are injured – there is no difference in the blood that comes out! We are all important in this country, including the workers of South Africa.
The struggle for the workers will continue. We will also continue celebrating this day and making it an assessment of whether we are achieving gains and improving the lives of the workers. I thank you. [Applause.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms N W Magadla): Thank you, hon Minister. That concludes the debate and the business of the day. Hon members, you are requested to remain seated until the procession has left the chamber.
Debate concluded.
The Council adjourned at 16:21.
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