The appointment of a new minister of Mineral Resources, Mosebenzi Joseph Zwane –announced last week during an unexpected cabinet reshuffle – has evoked widespread industry concerns about the potentially negative impact on commodity exports and prices.
“It will be up to the new minister to re-assert the importance of continuing the dialogue that was started by previous minister, Ngoako Ramathlodi. Whatever his background or knowledge of the industry, if he can manage the path of negotiation, business may not have a problem,” said political analyst, Daniel Silke, in an interview with business daily, Moneyweb.
Zwane’s appointment comes at a particularly tough time, with the mining industry wrestling with falling commodity prices, declining productivity and ongoing labour issues.
A Business Day article commented that his appointment was viewed by the mining industry as being weighed down with the "baggage" of being a Gupta family-sanctioned appointment.
Investec Securities said in a note on its website on Friday that it viewed the new appointment as a “key obstacle to progress”, pointing out that just as Ramathlodi was getting to grips with most of the issues in the sector, a new head had been appointed.
Chamber of Mines CEO, Roger Baxter, said in a statement that the chamber had found Ramatlhodi “accessible and open to dialogue even if those discussions were sometimes heated”.
He further noted that the chamber would engage openly and constructively with Zwane and try to move the industry forward. "We don’t choose the minister. We will work with whoever is there," Baxter said.
Before the reshuffling, Ramathlodi was engaged in several negotiations with foreign import markets around commodity prices – particularly South Africa’s Brics partners who represent some of the biggest markets for gold, diamonds and platinum, amongst others. He is also credited with trying to find workable ways to mitigate the impact of job cuts on the industry and limit labour unrest.
Zwane’s previous appointment was as MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Free State provincial government. Before that, he was the Free State MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs.
