JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – While a delay in the implementation of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) Amendment Bill could create some regulatory uncertainty, this was far better than the regulatory uncertainty that would be created by inadequately considered legislation, Webber Wentzel mining head Peter Leon said.

Leon was responding to Mining Weekly Online, following reports that the Bill might not be passed by the National Assembly (NA) before Parliament’s March 13 scheduled adjournment ahead of the general election on May 7.

Leon explained that the NA’s Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources had been scheduled to conduct a clause-by-clause review of the Bill on February 18, after which it was scheduled to vote on the Bill on February 19. However, at the start of the committee meeting, acting committee chair Faith Bikani expressed the view that the latest draft of the Bill contained changes that affected legislation administered by other government departments which could result in consequential amendments to such legislation.

In view of this, after a discussion with the committee, Bikani suspended the proceedings before the committee so that she could alert the Speaker of the House, Max Sisulu, as well as the NA. 

Under Parliamentary Rule 249, the Assembly was then required to pass a resolution confirming that it agreed with the proposed amendments to such legislation before the committee could continue with its review of the Bill, Leon said.

He noted that on Tuesday, Bikani said the Bill should be carried over to the next Parliament rather than passing it without deeply looking into the issues.

This was consistent with a sentiment expressed by Bikani in November 2013 when she said “there are quite a lot of changes [to the Bill] that we need to take into consideration.  We need to go back and do some research.  Some of the definitions and objectives in the Bill need to be defined more clearly".

“It, thus, appears that the committee remains concerned by the Bill's content in its current form, and feels that it must be more extensively discussed, as well as possibly amended, before it can be adopted.  That can only be a good outcome if it results in a better Bill,” Leon stated.

Further, the Chamber of Mines explained that while it was still unclear what Parliament would decide to do, it was hopeful that its engagement with the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) and Parliament would lead to a positive outcome for South Africa as a whole and the mining industry.

The DMR said it was still evaluating what the ramifications of either outcome – the Bill being passed or handed over to the next Parliament – would be, and could, therefore, not comment at this stage.

Meanwhile, Leon explained that irrespective of whether the MPRDA Amendment Bill was passed by the NA during this administration – which he said could happen “if there is sufficient political will” – there would not be time, before Parliament’s scheduled adjournment, for the Bill to be passed by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).

He explained that although the latest version of the Bill was tagged as a Bill falling under Section 75 of the Constitution, the committee, on the advice of Parliamentary law adviser, Desiree Swart, had identified the Bill as one falling under Section 76 of the Constitution.

As such, the Bill would need to be tabled in and adopted by the NCOP, which would have to call for submissions and hold public hearings on the Bill once tabled, enabling further study of the Bill.

Leon explained that the NCOP would be obliged to call for further consultation and public comment on the Bill once it was introduced after the election.

“This gives the industry more opportunity to interact with Parliament and the DMR on the Bill.  Importantly, it also gives more time for Parliament to consider the outstanding issues with the Bill,” he said.

“The MPRDA is a very important piece of legislation that will affect the South African economy and the more time that is taken to consider the Bill, the better,” Leon concluded.