South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the late Namibian President Hage Geingob as a visionary leader who saw great opportunities to improve the lives of its people in Africa’s abundant natural resources.
Geingob died at 82 in Windhoek on February 4, 2024.
In his remarks at the 2024 Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town International Convention Centre Monday, Ramaphosa said Geingob was one of Africa’s foremost leaders, a champion of development and progress.
“As we gather here for this, the 30th Investing in African Mining Indaba, I wish to pay tribute to Dr Hage Geingob, the President of Namibia,” Ramaphosa said.
According to Ramaphosa, it is fitting that the 30th Mining Indaba is taking place in the year South Africa celebrates the 30th year of its democracy.
He said South Africa’s mining industry has undergone significant transformation over the last three decades.
For nearly 150 years, Ramaphosa said, mining has been a pillar of the South African economy.
“It currently contributes roughly 7.5% towards GDP and accounts for some 60% of South African exports by value,” he said.
Ramaphosa added that when the Mining Charter was introduced in 2004, black ownership in the industry stood at about 2%, and today, it is about 39%, employing about 476,000 people.
“There are also several employee share ownership schemes through which mineworker participation in mining companies is promoted,” he said.
According to Ramaphosa, South Africa has acted against illegal mining and damage to infrastructure by establishing a specialised police unit and working with the defence force.
He added that the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, through Mintek, continues to seal ownerless and derelict mines.
Since 2019, the department has closed and sealed 251 derelict holes and shafts. Over the next three years, it intends to close 352 more shafts.
“As a government, we are aware that mining cannot flourish without bold, transformative reforms to the logistics sector. We are working hard, in partnership with industry, to ensure this roadmap is implemented without delay.
“Finally, in 2023, we committed to improving the regulatory environment by developing and implementing a new cadastral system to assist in operating a modern mining rights administration system,” Ramaphosa said.
The South African President said the vast majority of the minerals key to the global energy transition, including manganese, iron ore, copper, cobalt, nickel, and platinum group metals, lie beneath the soil of our continent.
He said Africa has the potential to be the fulcrum of the global energy transition, with mining at its core.
The Investing in African Mining Indaba’s 2024 theme is embracing the power of positive disruption, and it ends on February 11.
