Referral in terms of s79 of the Mining and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill 15B of 2013

The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) and a coalition of civil society and community organisations are urging the South African National Assembly to reject the Mining and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill 15B of 2013. Following President Zuma's referral of the bill back to Parliament, the LRC argues that the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and provincial legislatures failed to facilitate reasonable public participation, violating sections 72 and 118 of the Constitution. The LRC specifically highlights that the bill removes community participation in mining and eliminates requirements for addressing socio-economic needs. They contend that the bill was influenced by 'lobbying and influence peddling' from the mining industry and the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) outside of parliamentary processes. The LRC demands a fresh start to the legislative process to ensure meaningful consultation with affected mining communities, particularly regarding living customary law and the principle of community consent.

• The LRC argues that the only legally and practically reasonable option for the Assembly is to use Rule 208 to reject the bill and start the process over, as the Assembly is bound by Rule 203 to limit its enquiry to the specific deficiencies raised by the President and cannot accommodate the Minister of Mineral Resources' proposal to split the legislation into separate acts for oil/gas and minerals.
• The Coalition identifies several substantive concerns that require meaningful consultation, including the impact of the bill on living customary law—specifically the definition of community and the principle of consent—and the status of the Codes of Good Practice for the South African Minerals Industry and the Amended Broad-Based Socio-Economic Empowerment Charter.
• The LRC asserts that the bill was amended by the Portfolio Committee to the detriment of communities without public involvement, specifically by removing the possibility of community participation in mining (section 23(2A)) and removing the Minister's power to require mining companies to address socio-economic challenges (section 23(2)(b)).
• The LRC claims that changes to the bill were made through 'lobbying and influence peddling' between the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) and the Chamber of Mines outside of Parliament, citing a public announcement by BHP Billiton Energy Coal SA (BECSA) during public hearings regarding 'constructive engagements' with the DMR.
• The LRC argues that the insertion of the phrase "where necessary" in 16 places within the act makes parallel applications for water use licenses discretionary for the DMR or mining companies, which undermines the authority of the Department of Water Affairs.
• Regarding living customary law, the LRC argues that consultation cannot be limited to the House of Traditional Leaders, as the Constitutional Court has ruled that the content of living customary law must be sought from the practices of the community who live the law.
• The LRC contends that the legislative process in the NCOP was unconstitutionally rushed, with the MPRDA Bill being processed in approximately two weeks, which failed to meet the 'reasonableness' test for public participation established by the Constitutional Court in Doctors for Life International v Speaker of the National Assembly.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2015). Referral in terms of s79 of the Mining and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill 15B of 2013. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Annexure-A.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. Referral in terms of s79 of the Mining and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill 15B of 2013. 2015. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Annexure-A.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=Referral in terms of s79 of the Mining and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill 15B of 2013 |date=17 February 2015 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Annexure-A.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2015referral, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{Referral in terms of s79 of the Mining and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill 15B of 2013}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2015}, month = feb, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Annexure-A.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }