EDITORIAL: How the Mining Charter charts new depths for SA
It’s hard not to wonder why Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba held his delayed media briefing on Thursday at all. He is, of course, a minister who is never backward about putting himself forward, so to speak. And the Cabinet had mandated him to brief the nation on the way forward for the economy, following the ratings downgrades and news of the recession. So he was, presumably, obliged to deliver. But by Thursday, the Gigaba story was less about the economy and more about whether and how thoroughly the minister had been captured by the Guptas, whose naturalisation application he overrode his officials to approve while he was minister of home affairs. And by the time he stood up to face the media on Thursday, his colleague Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane had just published the new Mining Charter. That made anything Gigaba said about the government’s commitment to restoring investor confidence look either naïve or cynical. The market reaction to the charter has been savage. An...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.