If Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane had any self-respect, he would have resigned immediately last weekend when President Cyril Ramaphosa went over his head to talk to the captains of the mining industry and agree, in effect, to trash Zwane’s pet project — the revised Mining Charter he so controversially issued in June — amid charges that if implemented it would destroy the industry. Zwane, it seems, was not even invited to the meeting at which Ramaphosa struck a deal with the Chamber of Mines to ask the high court to postpone indefinitely its application to review the revised charter, on the basis of the Presidency’s commitment to facilitate a process in which all stakeholders would negotiate a brand-new charter. Not only did Zwane not resign, but his officials had been busy the previous week shoring up the plunder regime that, under Zwane, has delivered rich returns for the Guptas, with mineral resources director-general Thabo Mokoena firing an Mpum-alanga official who ha...

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