28 June 2025
Honourable Members
Honourable Speaker,
And South Africans at large
INTRODUCTION
As I stand in front of you today to convey the ANC’s vision for the budget vote, I can help but reflect on the journey the sector has taken in the democratic dispensation. This vote comes when the world’s processing and consumption of key mineral resources is more prevalent, and the question of the sustainable use of our resources is more central than ever before.
This budget vote is tabled at a critical juncture in our nation’s history, as we strive to build a transformed and sustainable mineral and petroleum sector, we are also celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Freedom Charter. As the ANC, the Freedom Charter represents a foundational document highlighting our vision and promise to the people.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy was divided into two separate entities. As a result, two new portfolio committees were established. This marks the inaugural budget presentation by the newly formed Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources.
STRATEGIC AREAS OF FOCUS
The Department functions through four primary programs to execute its task efficiently. Collectively, these programs provide a comprehensive approach to regulation, policy formulation, and industry supervision in our mining and petroleum sectors. For the 2025/26 fiscal year, the Department’s programmes and priority initiatives will receive a combined budget allocation of R2.8 billion, with the Mining, Minerals and Petroleum Policy Development Branch accounting for 42.79% of the budget, funding transfers to state-owned entities.
In our continued quest to build a capable, ethical and developmental state, the mineral and petroleum sector must be a driver of industrialisation and inclusive growth, while ensuring that the benefits of our natural resources are equitably distributed among all South Africans.
Honourable Speaker, the Administration aspect of the program serves as the anchoring point, ensuring that the Department has the necessary support systems to execute its mandate efficiently. We cannot afford administrative inefficiencies in a sector so critical to our economy. The ten performance targets set for 2025/26, from zero tolerance for corruption to timely payments to service providers, must be monitored closely. This administration must be a model of good governance because, without a capable, representative, and ethical workforce, the Department’s broader goals will remain out of reach. We support this programme’s objectives but demand accountability in its execution.
The 2025 State of the Nation Address underscored this imperative, and this budget vote aligns squarely with that vision. The Department’s strategic priorities of driving inclusive growth, reducing poverty and inequalities, and building a capable, ethical, developmental state are aspirational and actionable promises, as reflected in the 2025/26 Budget allocation.
Programme 2
Honourable Speaker, the mining and petroleum sectors remain the bedrock of our economy, contributing 6% to GDP and with a total turnover of over One Trillion Rands for 2024. Mining is a significant sector in the South African Economy. However, its potential extends far beyond mere extraction. It is the hope of communities for change and economic empowerment.
As we partake in this debate as the ANC, we are committed to leveraging this sector to foster industrialisation through mineral beneficiation. Ensuring that we realise the actual value of our ore before exporting the raw minerals.
Honourable members, Minerals and Petroleum Regulation stands at the heart of this Department’s mission, aiming to regulate the mining and petroleum sectors in a way that drives economic growth and advances transformation. The 23 targets set for 2025/26 are ambitious but necessary. Enabling 10,000 jobs through mining rights and 1,200 through petroleum licenses is a commitment to livelihoods. Prioritising Historically Disadvantaged South Africans with 200 rights and permits, and financially supporting women small-scale miners, shows a tangible push for inclusivity. Honourable Speaker, we must ensure that every inspection, whether for environmental compliance or social labour plans, translates into real accountability.
Sealing 40 unsafe shafts and rehabilitating derelict mines is critical to protecting communities, while the new mining cadastre system must deliver on its promise of transparency. Once the Cabinet approves the Petroleum Sector Development Plan, it could unlock investment in refining capacity, which would be a key step toward energy security.
We welcome the Department’s commitment to operationalising two additional refineries by 2030, bolstering our energy security and creating thousands of jobs. However, the delay in lifting the shale gas moratorium, a decision resting with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment, poses a significant risk to addressing the impending gas cliff. We urge a swift resolution, as shale gas could be a game-changer for our energy mix and industrial development.
SANPC
I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the Upstream Petroleum Development Act in addressing the historic injustices of the past by providing the active participation of Historically Disadvantaged South Africans in direct terms. In building the South Africa we envision. Our extractive sector should always have the best interests of our people at heart.
The Central Energy Fund Group’s restructuring in light of the emergence of the South African National Petroleum Company must be met with support, as delays in the enabling legislation, which is the SANPC Bill, are stifling progress. SANPC cannot thrive without the SANPC Act.
As the ANC, we recognise that the Department’s strength lies in its entities’ capacity. The Council for Geoscience has made groundbreaking strides in mapping our mineral and energy resources. This is evident through identifying 8 trillion cubic feet of shale gas potential in the Karoo. Yet, funding constraints hinder its ability to address critical challenges like dolomite risks and flood disasters. The budget allocation is centred around such contracts’ long-term resolution and capitalisation.
Similarly, Mintek’s pioneering work in rare earth extraction from coal waste could revolutionise small-scale mining and local beneficiation. This is particularly critical as the Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy for South Africa 2025 identifies coal as a vital mineral. This budget vote must therefore be a call to action to capacitate these entities fully, ensuring they have the resources to deliver on their mandates.
This budget vote is a firm testament to the ANC’s unwavering commitment to a transformed and sustainable mineral and petroleum sector. We welcome and see the Department’s programmes, from revitalising smelters to promoting local beneficiation and initiatives, as key and strategic drivers for change and economic growth.
I thank you