Latest news with #MineralandPetroleumResourcesDevelopmentAct
The Citizen
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Court denies plea to pardon state capture accused
They face 11 charges including fraud, money laundering, forgery, uttering and perjury. Ronica Ragavan, Pushpaveni Govender and Joel Raphela appearing before the Randburg Magistrate's Court after they were arrested on Tuesday. Picture: Supplied An application by the lawyers of high-profile individuals seeking pardons on state capture allegations has been dismissed. Former deputy director-general of the then department of mineral resources Joel Raphela, as well as Ronica Ragavan, Pushpaveni Govender and entities linked to the Gupta family – Optimum Coal Mine, Koornfontein Mines and Tegeta Exploration and Resources appeared in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday. Charges They face 11 charges including fraud and contravention of Regulation 4 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, money laundering, forgery, uttering and perjury. Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) Henry Mamothame said all the individuals are linked to a corruption case involving mine rehabilitation. 'The court also ruled in favour of IDAC's granting leave to amend the indictment on certain charges against the accused. 'This development follows the closure of the state's case. The defence's application was brought thereafter. The matter has been postponed to 25 May, 2026 and is set down until 12 June, 2026, during which period the defence is expected to call its witnesses,' Mamothame said. ALSO READ: Gauteng businessman jailed for R66 million Transnet fraud Fraud Mamothame said all the accused have pleaded not guilty to all charges. Their court appearance stemmed from the alleged fraud associated with the rehabilitation of the Koornfontein mine. Ragavan was then the director and Govender was a trustee. In December 2015, Oakbay Investments entered into a sale of shares and claims agreement with Glencore for the acquisition of shares in Optimum and Koornfontein mines. Sale agreement The agreement was for Tegeta to take control of the Optimum Mine Rehabilitation Trust and the Koornfontein Rehabilitation Trust. On 8 April, 2016, the sale agreements were deemed to have been fulfilled, resulting in the department giving consent in terms of the regulations, for the disposal of 100% control of Optimum and Koornfontein to Tegeta. Mamothame said the Coal Supply Agreement was supposed to continue until December 2018. 'Millions were reportedly embezzled,' he said. Abandoned mines According to Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke's report, released in 2023, there were 6 100 abandoned mines and 1 170 mine openings nationwide. Maluleke urged government to speed up rehabilitation of the abandoned mines, as they posed health, safety and environmental hazards for nearby communities. ALSO READ: SCA overturns Nulane accused's acquittal and orders retrial
The South African
21-07-2025
- The South African
Court dismisses plea to pardon State Capture accused
On 21 July 2025, the Johannesburg High Court dismissed an application by lawyers of high-profile individuals, seeking pardon from State Capture allegations. They face 11 charges including fraud and Contravention of Regulation 4 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. The National Prosecuting Authority said all the individuals are linked to a corruption case involving mine rehabilitation. Spokesperson of the NPA's Investigating Directorate Against Corruption, Henry Mamothame, said the accused were also in Contravention of Regulation 7 of the National Environmental Management Act. Additionally, they were charged with money laundering, forgery, uttering and perjury. The alleged state capture offenders approached the court seeking a discharge. Their application was made in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act. 'The accused include the former Deputy Director-General of the then Department of Mineral Resources, Joel Raphela,' said Mamothame. Charged with Raphela are Ronica Ragavan, Pushpaveni Govender and entities linked to the Gupta family, which are Optimum Coal Mine, Koornfontein Mines and Tegeta Exploration and Resources. Mamothame regards the court's dismissal of the application as a victory for justice. Additionally, IDAC has been granted leave to amend the indictment on certain charges against the accused. All the accused have pleaded not guilty to the 11 charges. In conclusion, the matter was postponed to 25 May 2026. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news
The Star
18-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Rethinking social and labour plans: from compliance to transformational community development
Mzila I. Mthenjane | Published 9 hours ago The consequences of climate change amplify vulnerabilities in communities, placing additional stresses on water availability, agricultural productivity, health outcomes, and infrastructure resilience, such as roads and housing susceptibility to severe weather conditions. Too often, when the disaster or distress hits, communities turn to mining companies to provide services and infrastructure. Despite this reality, there remains a disconnect between intention, impact, and outcomes in these interventions. Mining is on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation investment boom. The global population is approaching 10 billion people, and many parts of the world, including us, are pursuing a net zero economy towards 2050 and beyond. With an estimated $100 billion in additional capital investment in the resources sector required each year to meet the demand outlook associated with urbanisation and the decarbonisation of the global energy system, sizeable increases in material production and infrastructure are also necessary. For emerging economies, there is a narrow window of opportunity to seize now. Such growing demand brings an opportunity to benefit communities, countries and investors committed to enabling and facilitating the mining and investment activities needed to meet our needs, such as skills-to-employment ecosystem, generating local value addition and create revenue flows capable of decarbonized economic development. South Africa's mining sector is a significant driver of economic growth and critical for the socio-economic transformation of our society. Central to this transformation agenda are Social and Labour Plans (SLPs), elements of the mining licensing regime which were introduced through the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 to ensure mining contributes to sustainable community development. SLPs were conceived as strategic tools to promote socio-economic development, stimulate and broaden economic opportunities, and enhance skills development to support the creation of sustainable communities during and after mining. However, nearly two decades after their inception, the question remains: Have SLPs truly driven sustainable, transformative change within mining-affected communities This ongoing struggle reveals a fundamental disconnect between the institutional understanding of challenges within communities and the intended goals and actual community-level outcomes, raising the question of why there is this persistent gap and what are the possible solutions. Despite the significant resources mining companies have committed under SLPs, informed by local integrated development plans (IDPs), tangible and sustained improvements in the quality of life and long-term socio-economic resilience remains elusive. A significant contributing factor is the prevailing and compliance-driven mindset underpinning SLP implementation, amongst mining companies, regulator and beneficiaries. Too often, SLPs, being regulatory obligations, are limited from being approached as strategic investments for genuine socio-economic empowerment and, in today's terms, transforming communities in response to climate change and commence the just transition journey. As it stands, the law ringfences SLPs to individual mining rights, leading to less effective deployment of resources for joint projects which would deliver greater impact and minimise duplications. Such an approach frequently leaves underlying structural challenges unaddressed. For example, projects may initially improve conditions but deteriorate without municipal long-term planning, community stewardship, financial constraints and skills shortages to adequately sustain them. Under such a compliance framework, companies prioritise with local government , short-term deliverables—such as building municipal and district roads, donating to local charities, a clinic here and school classroom there, or sponsoring temporary initiatives—over comprehensive, sustained, and systemic socio-economic transformation projects. This situation ultimately limits the durability and scale of impacts, leading communities to cycle back into dependency and vulnerability. Even though, not directly affected by the SLP, lessons from the decommission of power stations, and associated mine closures in areas like Komati has brought this reality to the fore. Recently mining companies have been trying to pool their SLP projects with amendments to legislation also being advocated. The overarching idea is to bring the benefits of mining to communities through collaboration. But this is not often the case, as some IDPs do not exhibit the essential elements of integration along a clear developmental trajectory -resulting in sub-optimal developmental outcomes, leading to mistrust and finger-pointing. Whereas mining companies correctly complain of the failure of government in creating an enabling environment for development, host communities often bear the brunt of such failures, including poor service delivery and ineffective local economic development. A further complication is the apparent inadequacy of meaningful community engagement during IDP and SLP formulation. Inadequate measurement of actual impacts exacerbates the problem. Without robust metrics to measure true progress—such as improvements in health and education outcomes or enhanced local economic development—SLPs risk remaining exercises in compliance rather than vehicles for genuine and sustained socio-economic development. Furthermore, what is necessary to maximise this developmental impact through increased collaboration not just among mining companies within a municipality, but also with entities in other economic sectors. An appropriate legislative frameworks to guide collaboration between all economic players operating in the same mining region is urgently required. Mining companies, together with other economic players, government, communities and other stakeholders involved can reorient SLPs away from transactional, fragmented efforts towards comprehensive, integrated, and strategic frameworks. By doing so, SLPs can effectively contribute to the fulfilment of the developmental objective by serving as powerful catalysts for inclusive and enduring transformation in the communities that host South Africa's critical mining operations. Mzila I. Mthenjane is PCC Commissioner and CEO, Minerals Council South Africa.
IOL News
18-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Rethinking social and labour plans: from compliance to transformational community development
Too often, when the disaster or distress hits, communities turn to mining companies to provide services and infrastructure. Image: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers. The consequences of climate change amplify vulnerabilities in communities, placing additional stresses on water availability, agricultural productivity, health outcomes, and infrastructure resilience, such as roads and housing susceptibility to severe weather conditions. Too often, when the disaster or distress hits, communities turn to mining companies to provide services and infrastructure. Despite this reality, there remains a disconnect between intention, impact, and outcomes in these interventions. Mining is on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation investment boom. The global population is approaching 10 billion people, and many parts of the world, including us, are pursuing a net zero economy towards 2050 and beyond. With an estimated $100 billion in additional capital investment in the resources sector required each year to meet the demand outlook associated with urbanisation and the decarbonisation of the global energy system, sizeable increases in material production and infrastructure are also necessary. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ For emerging economies, there is a narrow window of opportunity to seize now. Such growing demand brings an opportunity to benefit communities, countries and investors committed to enabling and facilitating the mining and investment activities needed to meet our needs, such as skills-to-employment ecosystem, generating local value addition and create revenue flows capable of decarbonized economic development. South Africa's mining sector is a significant driver of economic growth and critical for the socio-economic transformation of our society. Central to this transformation agenda are Social and Labour Plans (SLPs), elements of the mining licensing regime which were introduced through the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 to ensure mining contributes to sustainable community development. SLPs were conceived as strategic tools to promote socio-economic development, stimulate and broaden economic opportunities, and enhance skills development to support the creation of sustainable communities during and after mining. However, nearly two decades after their inception, the question remains: Have SLPs truly driven sustainable, transformative change within mining-affected communities This ongoing struggle reveals a fundamental disconnect between the institutional understanding of challenges within communities and the intended goals and actual community-level outcomes, raising the question of why there is this persistent gap and what are the possible solutions. Despite the significant resources mining companies have committed under SLPs, informed by local integrated development plans (IDPs), tangible and sustained improvements in the quality of life and long-term socio-economic resilience remains elusive. A significant contributing factor is the prevailing and compliance-driven mindset underpinning SLP implementation, amongst mining companies, regulator and beneficiaries. Too often, SLPs, being regulatory obligations, are limited from being approached as strategic investments for genuine socio-economic empowerment and, in today's terms, transforming communities in response to climate change and commence the just transition journey. As it stands, the law ringfences SLPs to individual mining rights, leading to less effective deployment of resources for joint projects which would deliver greater impact and minimise duplications. Such an approach frequently leaves underlying structural challenges unaddressed. For example, projects may initially improve conditions but deteriorate without municipal long-term planning, community stewardship, financial constraints and skills shortages to adequately sustain them. Under such a compliance framework, companies prioritise with local government , short-term deliverables—such as building municipal and district roads, donating to local charities, a clinic here and school classroom there, or sponsoring temporary initiatives—over comprehensive, sustained, and systemic socio-economic transformation projects. This situation ultimately limits the durability and scale of impacts, leading communities to cycle back into dependency and vulnerability. Even though, not directly affected by the SLP, lessons from the decommission of power stations, and associated mine closures in areas like Komati has brought this reality to the fore. Recently mining companies have been trying to pool their SLP projects with amendments to legislation also being advocated. The overarching idea is to bring the benefits of mining to communities through collaboration. But this is not often the case, as some IDPs do not exhibit the essential elements of integration along a clear developmental trajectory -resulting in sub-optimal developmental outcomes, leading to mistrust and finger-pointing. Whereas mining companies correctly complain of the failure of government in creating an enabling environment for development, host communities often bear the brunt of such failures, including poor service delivery and ineffective local economic development. A further complication is the apparent inadequacy of meaningful community engagement during IDP and SLP formulation. Inadequate measurement of actual impacts exacerbates the problem. Without robust metrics to measure true progress—such as improvements in health and education outcomes or enhanced local economic development—SLPs risk remaining exercises in compliance rather than vehicles for genuine and sustained socio-economic development. Furthermore, what is necessary to maximise this developmental impact through increased collaboration not just among mining companies within a municipality, but also with entities in other economic sectors. An appropriate legislative frameworks to guide collaboration between all economic players operating in the same mining region is urgently required. Mining companies, together with other economic players, government, communities and other stakeholders involved can reorient SLPs away from transactional, fragmented efforts towards comprehensive, integrated, and strategic frameworks. By doing so, SLPs can effectively contribute to the fulfilment of the developmental objective by serving as powerful catalysts for inclusive and enduring transformation in the communities that host South Africa's critical mining operations. Mzila I. Mthenjane is PCC Commissioner and CEO, Minerals Council South Africa. Mzila I. Mthenjane is PCC Commissioner and CEO, Minerals Council South Africa. Image: Supplied. BUSINESS REPORT Visit:
The Citizen
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Millions unaccounted for as ex-mine bosses face court over fraud
Millions meant for mine rehabilitation allegedly embezzled as former executives and a top official face court. Ronica Ragavan, Pushpaveni Govender and Joel Raphela appearing before the Randburg Magistrate's Court after they were arrested on Tuesday. Picture: Supplied Several former mining bosses, their mining firm and a senior former civil servant are expected to appear in High Court in Johannesburg today for reportedly embezzling funds meant for mining rehabilitation. Those expected in court include former deputy director-general of the then department of mineral and resources Joel Raphela, Ronica Ragan, Pushpaveni Govender, Optimum Coal Mine, Koornfontein Mines and Tegeta Exploration and Resources. During the trial that started on Monday, the group pleaded not guilty to 11 charges that include Contravention of Regulation 4 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, Contravention of Regulation 7 of the National Environmental Act, money laundering, forgery, uttering and perjury. Ex-mine bosses pleaded no guilty to 11 charges Investigating Directorate Against Corruption spokesperson Henry Mamothame said the court appearance emanated from the alleged fraud linked to the rehabilitation of Koornfontein mine. Ragavan was then director and Govender a trustee. ALSO READ: Ex-govt official arrested over 'looting' of Gupta mine rehabilitation funds gets R20,000 bail 'In December 2015, Oakbay Investments entered into a sale of shares and claims agreement with Glencore for the acquisition of shares in Optimum and Koornfontein mine. 'The agreement was for Tegeta to take control of the Optimum Mine Rehabilitation Trust and the Koornfontein Rehabilitation Trust. 'On 8 April, 2016, the sale agreements were deemed to have been fulfilled, resulting in the department giving consent in terms of the regulations, for the disposal of 100% control of Optimum and Koornfontein to Tegeta. Millions reportedly embezzled 'The Coal Supply Agreement was supposed to continue until December 2018,' said Mamothame. Millions were reportedly embezzled, he said. ALSO READ: Gupta associates arrested over looting of Optimum, Koornfontein funds released on bail Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macau) spokesperson Magnificent Mndebele said the trial was a reflection of what Macua's investigation had unearthed. Their investigation, which spans 11 audited mining communities across six provinces showed how the R284 million in legally obligated Social and Labour Plan funds remained unaccounted for. R284 million unaccounted for According to auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke's report released in 2023, there were 6 100 abandoned mines and 1 170 mine openings countrywide. Maluleke urged government to speed up rehabilitation of the abandoned mines, as they posed health, safety and environmental hazards for nearby communities.
