Modern Mining May 2023

are increasingly voicing their disapproval in public, a relatively unprecedented feature of our post-1994 society. The mining industry, to its credit, has always been vocal and honest about the government’s failures. To survive, it will now have to pour resources not only into sustainably extracting resources from the ground, but into anti-corruption institutional capac ity too. The private sector, more broadly, will have to strengthen the national prosecuting authority and Chapter Nine institutions (the organisations that Chapter Nine of the Constitution has enshrined to ensure accountability and uphold the rule of law). Mining remains a key to unlocking South Africa’s growth potential. The corruption that permeates the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, and the more overt mine-gate extortion exercised by armed gangs, are just two challenges that have to be urgently overcome. One quick way to prevent corruption in the licensing allocation system, as I’ve repeatedly argued in these pages, is to implement a digital online cadastre system that is incorruptible. That it hasn’t happened yet is only too obvious a sign that too many officials think that it’s their ‘time to eat.’ It is, in summary, difficult to imagine that South Africa can reverse its trajectory and move back towards maturity unless there is a change in power at the highest level. Even then, such a change will not necessarily lead to a change in the norms, val ues and culture that have generated the current situation. When corruption is normalised, the belief systems that led to its normalisation have to change from ‘it’s our turn to eat’ to ‘how can we best serve the citizens of this country’? Moving from a self-serv ing norm to a self-sacrificial one requires nothing short of moral revival. 

saving grace that we have a judiciary capable of providing the Zondo Commission’s findings and rul ing against members of the executive without fear or favour. On the other hand, it is a travesty that the National Prosecuting Authority has been so hollowed out under ‘state capture’ that it is now incapable of bringing to justice those who have stolen billions from the country. This state of pervasive corruption moves us towards chaos because it makes it extremely expensive and difficult for responsible companies to do business in South Africa. Our recent grey listing, for instance – for failure to adequately pre vent money-laundering from organised crime and potential terrorism financing – doesn’t just tarnish our reputation, it affects our credit rating outlook. This in turn increases our debt servicing costs. The more of the annual budget that goes towards debt servicing, the less can be spent on necessary items like energy security and infrastructure upgrades and maintenance. To put it theoretically again, veering towards fra gility, and even Chaos, moves South Africa further away from what economists Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson call a Narrow Corridor . When gov ernment effectiveness and citizens’ ability to hold their governments to account improve simultane ously, it creates the right environment for economic dynamism to flourish and generate broad-based development. But falling outside that corridor makes growth rather challenging. Corruption has a direct bearing on a state’s ability to deliver services effec tively, provide justice and protect property rights. These are basic requirements of the state. South Africa’s inability to perform them has resulted in outrage from the business sector. Large corporates

Mining remains a key to unlocking South Africa’s growth potential.

The mining industry, to its credit, has always been vocal and honest about the government’s failures. To survive, it will now have to pour resources not only into sustainably extracting resources from the ground, but into anti-corruption

institutional capacity too.

May 2023  MODERN MINING  41