The director-general of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, Jacob Mbele. (Photo: @UNDPSouth Africa / X) Seemingly stung over criticism regarding the snail’s pace of the rollout of South Africa’s long-awaited mining cadastre, the Department of Petroleum and Mineral Resources held a briefing and a demonstration of the system on Monday, 15 June, for journalists.
And frankly, the system that was presented certainly looks like it will fulfil its role and become a one-stop shop for mining companies to apply for rights and permits while providing transparency for the wider public to see the state of play in this critical sector.
The lack of a functioning cadastre to replace the useless Samrad system is seen as one of the key reasons for backlogs in the applications system, and is widely regarded as a major deterrent to investment in SA’s mining sector.
“We wanted to demonstrate to you the work that has been done so far and the fact that it does exist. I know that some of the stories out there have obviously tried to create the impression that this thing that we are talking about does not exist and that we keep moving the goal posts,” said the department’s Director-General, Jacob Mbele.
It must be said that its existence has not really been in doubt. But what has been concerning is the slow pace of the rollout and the shifting of timelines – or goal posts – with 31 March 2027 now the latest target date for the system to be up and running nationwide.
Designed for the task at hand
That said, the brief demonstration provided showcased a system that appears designed for the task at hand.
You can click and – it appears – easily log into the system and register and view the maps. You can launch applications or manage every right or permit that has been issued to you.
“Anything that you do on your system or any communication that you get from the department will be reflected in your dashboard,” explained Pieter Swart, the department’s Western Cape regional manager.
If your application is accepted or rejected – and the process should be done within 14 days – you will get a notification from the department. If your Environmental Authorisation is acknowledged you will get a notification, and that kind of thing. And you can track the spoor of your application.
Consultants can also register on the system, but separately. One of the issues at Samrad was that consultants registered as actual applicants, throwing a spanner into the works of a barely functioning system.
And once you register, you have a unique client number and profile and don’t have to register again if, say, you want to make an application in another province.
Of course, the proof will be in the pudding once the cadastre is rolled out to all of the provinces from its current test run in the Western Cape, where the department says it is up and running with no apparent hitches.
Demonstrating it on a virtual platform is one thing. Applicants will see for themselves its effectiveness once it is operational across the country.
The Department of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has previously admitted that the migration to the new system was more challenging than anticipated, and is asking for patience as it wants to get it right. And the new target date, which is 9½ months away, would seem to give it the time it needs – a pledge that it can finally meet because if it is not met, the commentary will be scathing.
Under pressure
It is certainly under pressure from the mining industry, the wider public and one suspects the higher reaches of the government. President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the Mining Indaba more than three years ago that the cadastre procurement was “under way”, and one suspects he had hoped it would have been launched some time ago.
Still, there have been suspicions that the slow-motion rollout speaks to skullduggery and maladministration in the department’s regional offices, notably Mpumalanga and Limpopo where officials have admitted the “data challenges” were especially daunting.
Asked if the department’s records were in “disarray”, Mbele said he had seen no evidence of that.
One upshot of this saga is that the department is becoming more responsive and transparent on the issue, and Monday’s briefing is an example of that. That’s no bad thing and is in the spirit of the cadastre, which promises to bring enhanced transparency, scrutiny and accountability to all role players in SA’s mining sector. DM