APA-Cape Town (South Africa) Despite a dip in production, South Africa’s mining industry earned R1.18 trillion (about US$61.8 billion) in 2022 – up from R1.1 trillion in 2021 – during a year of a strong global demand for the country’s minerals, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has told Parliament in Cape Town.
Outlining his ministry’s proposed initiatives for the 2023/24 financial year on Tuesday, Mantashe said the sector had created 23,552 jobs between December 2021 and December 2022, resulting in a workforce of 472,088 workers.
Referring to data from the South African Revenue Service, the minister said the sector had contributed US$4.9 billion in corporate tax in the 2021/22 financial year and a further US$1.6 billion through royalties in the same period — keeping its percentage contribution to the GDP at 7.53 percent.
“This is a clear indication that mining remains a strong pillar of our economy,” Mantashe said, adding that the sector would remain its backbone for years to come.
He also highlighted the analysis from the latest Fraser Institute Survey, which placed South Africa in the worst position in the sector in recent memory.
However, the minister said he believed that mining would contribute even better to the economy if the “binding” constraints in electricity, rail and port systems were urgently resolved.
According to the survey, South Africa was in the bottom quartile on the investment attractiveness index.
One of the indices highlighted in the Fraser Institute Survey is the transparency of licensing systems.
“To this end, we have, in collaboration with the State Information Technology Agency, initiated a procurement process for a licensing system with integrity,” Mantashe said.
NM/jn/APA