part of no part

In a sudden and unexpected move, and under cover of the noise emanating from the ANC manifesto launch in Nelson Mandela Bay, the Minister of Minerals released a draft Mining Charter which has raised the hackles of mining executives and communities alike. It appears as if mining companies have been hoping that the legal battle around their spurious claim of “once empowered always empowered” would be sufficient leverage to corral the minister into relaxing the historical and ethical imperative for the mining sector to transform. When the Minister unilaterally presented the draft for public consideration the response from the mining executives was swift, with Neil Froneman leading the charge, calling the new mining charter unacceptable. Business Day Media was unequivocal in its support for the unhindered plunder of South African wealth by foreign mining companies, calling the move by the Minister a “toxic mix of political desperation and ideological intransigence”. To the Mini...

*This article was first published by Independent Media Group: http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/opinion/not-so-veiled-promise-of-using-majority-rule-2005550  “ You can do anything as long as you make the people understand ” said Gwede Mantashe on Friday night as he patiently explained to the country why the ANC Executive had decided to disregard the Constitutional Court findings that both Jacob Zuma and the National Assembly had acted in breach of their constitutional obligations. The Constitutional Court had just managed to clarify the Constitutional breach which unfolded over the last 7 years, a breach that was allowed to continue for so long with obfuscations, deliberate mis- construal   and the blind use of the ANC majority in Parliament. But it did not take the ANC long to muddy the waters again, insisting that even though the Constitution is the “ anchor, shield and loadstar ” of our young democracy and that the “ Judiciary is the final arbiter ”, that al...