South African government policies are forcing enterprises to move abroad because they do not want the government to dictate to them whom they should choose as business partners in South Africa, says the Freedom Front Plus.
The party was responding on Tuesday to Minister of Minerals and Energy Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who on Monday called on the marketing arm of De Beers, the diamond-trading company, to move from London to Southern Africa.
She was speaking at the Africa mining partnership, a meeting of more than a dozen mining ministers from Africa.
On Tuesday, FF+ MP Willie Spies said: “The ball in this regard is not in the court of the mining company but in that of the [ruling] ANC [African National Congress].”
He said in a statement that the government “last year, amidst big controversy, instituted the law on mineral and petroleum resources development, through which all mineral rights effectively became government property”.
He said: “The law also provides that mines have to reapply to the minister for mining rights or to have their existing rights changed to so-called new-generation temporary rights.
“In terms of the Act, as well as through government measures pertaining to black economic empowerment, mining enterprises are forced to hand their shares to black entrepreneurs.
“Enterprises do not want to do business in an environment in which governments dictate to them whom they should choose as business partners. It is therefore not strange that more and more enterprises move their businesses, wherever possible, to foreign countries.
“If Mlambo-Ngcuka is serious to prevent disinvestment in this regard, she will again have to look at the measures instituted by government,” said Spies, whose party has four members in the National Assembly. — I-Net Bridge