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THE SMART NEWS SOURCE | Feb 10 2012 23:11 | LAST UPDATED Feb 10 2012 23:11 |
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The South African government will not be pursuing a way of cushioning spikes in the oil price for consumers any time soon, according to Minister of Minerals and Energy Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. Addressing the media on Friday during Parliament's media briefing week in Cape Town, Mlambo-Ngcuka said the Department of Minerals and Energy has looked at ways of mitigating the large changes in the oil price on a monthly basis The research has shown that any government action is not likely to make a big difference to consumers. "We are not likely to pursue aggressively ways of cushioning oil-price spikes because it is not likely to make a big difference for consumers, apart from making [the] government soldier a huge responsibility," she commented. Meanwhile, when asked about a timetable for the tabling of the reworked Mining Royalties Bill -- which proposes various levels of royalty rates to be applied to the production of different commodities -- Mlambo-Ngcuka said the National Treasury has not finalised it yet, but is still in talks with mining companies on the issue. "They are snowed under," she said. "Since the proposed royalties are not due to come into law until 2009, I believe it is not very urgent for them." -- I-Net Bridge  CONTINUES BELOW TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
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