Cape Town – Cabinet has approved a mineral beneficiation policy for the country that will work towards enhancing the value of exports, localising imports and creating sustainable jobs, spokesperson Jimmy Manyi said on Thursday.
The policy seeks to maximize national benefits from the country’s mineral resources.
Manyi said the policy sought to translate the country’s “sheer comparative advantage inherited from significant mineral resource reservoir to a national competitive advantage.”
As a vital input to the industrialization programme, the new policy presented “exciting opportunities for long term investment” for both local and foreign manufacturing businesses.
“This will leverage optimal benefit from enhanced value exports, increasing sources for consumption of local content and contribute towards the creation of sustainable jobs.”
Manyi addressed the media on Thursday, following an ordinary meeting of Cabinet.
Presenting her department’s Budget Vote to Parliament last week, Minerals and Energy Minister Susan Shabangu said she was confident the approval of the new policy would give the department a “firm basis to pursue a comprehensive and integrated approach to mineral beneficiation.
On a different subject, Manyi told journalists that Cabinet had “noted progress made” with the review of the Ministerial Handbook.
He said the draft amendments would be submitted to the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers.
“The Commission will carry out its work and report back to the President (Jacob Zuma).”
Asked whether he knew about the amendments, he said that Cabinet did not want to “get its hands dirty” and it was up to the Commission to make the necessary amendments.
Manyi said that he did not know about the timeframe in which the amendments would be finalized, but it was urgent matter. – Francis Hweshe, BuaNews
