Initially he was known as Dinogwed. I had to think about the best type of dinosaur that would suit our mining minister. He couldn’t be a T-Rex. He was best suited as a lumbering herbivore, my first choice was an ankylosaurus. But it I don’t know where to fit the Gwed into the name – Gwedlyosaurus, ankylogwed. Unfortunately I have to go with the very predictable Gwedosaurus – modeled after the stegosaurus - probably apt because he’s just as prickly as a stegosaurus. You’ll notice the uppercase – I don’t dislike him, but he is not suited to hold any type of political office. He’s backward and patently serving a certain segment of our entitled society.
Ed Stoddard wrote something about the recent court case in the Daily Maverick this morning.
In classic Mantashe fashion, his response will have left investors in the dark.
“To me, appealing or not appealing the latest charter ruling is not the issue. I may appeal to ensure the smooth running of the department. But for me, the major issue is whether the industry is committed to transformation, and will we see more black capitalists. If the industry is committed to transformation, we will not be appealing,'” he said.
So if you want to commit significant capital to South Africa’s mining sector, just wait. The legal shenanigans over this vexed issue may or may not be over. The minister says he wants investors but such uncertainty is a key deterrent to investment.
I agree with Ed’s comment after the underlined sentence. BUT – it’s the underlined sentence that worries me the most. How do you determine whether you are committed to transformation and how does Gwedosaurus determine it. This is a problem. It’s not documented. You’ve got the mining charter that has been chopped down completely. Does the Jurassic one think that a commitment to those aspects is enough. Is using the generic scorecard (bolshie’s bullshit one) an acceptable method?
This is a problem. One of the many in the mining industry. I’ll leave Ed’s final comment in another article as a good representation of what is happening in the mining industry, although it’s a metaphor for almost every ministry, department or municipality that the anc has corruption control over.
Top it off with an incapable and corrupt state, and you get dramas like the one that just took place in Orkney. It won’t be the last.
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