Submission to Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources on the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Amendment Bill [B15-2013]

A joint submission by five environmental and social justice organisations to the South African Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources, asserting that the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Amendment Bill [B15-2013] does not rectify systemic failures in administrative justice. The authors argue that the Bill maintains inadequate consultation timeframes, restricts access to critical mining application data, and fails to protect the rights of rural and marginalized communities against the interests of mining companies and traditional authorities.

• The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) and the proposed Amendment Bill fail to uphold the principles of administrative justice by not providing adequate notice or access to information for interested and affected parties.
• Current consultation timeframes are insufficient, specifically the 30-day window for submitting comments and objections to mining right applications, which is often rendered unfeasible by poor notification methods.
• Interested and affected parties are frequently denied access to essential application documents, such as works programmes, rehabilitation plans, and Social and Labour Plans (SLPs), forcing them to make submissions without necessary data.
• The Bill does not address the marginalisation of poor rural communities, where mining often perpetuates inequality and displaces residents without meaningful consultation or fair lease agreements, particularly on communal land.
• There is a systemic failure in consulting the broader community, as mining companies often consult only traditional authorities, which can lead to social rifts when benefits are distributed only to leaders rather than community members.
• The proposed structure of the Regional Mining Development and Environment Committee (RMDEC) is flawed because it lacks explicit membership for water and environmental affairs departments and is chaired by the Regional Manager, creating a conflict of interest.
• The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) failed to conduct meaningful community consultation during the legislative reform process for the Bill itself, with some claimed consultations dating back to 2011 rather than the draft bill period.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2013). Submission to Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources on the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Amendment Bill [B15-2013]. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Joint-Submission-on-MPRDA-Amendment-Bill-6-Sept-2013-Administrative-Justice-Consultation-and-Access-to-Information.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. Submission to Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources on the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Amendment Bill [B15-2013]. 2013. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Joint-Submission-on-MPRDA-Amendment-Bill-6-Sept-2013-Administrative-Justice-Consultation-and-Access-to-Information.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=Submission to Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources on the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Amendment Bill [B15-2013] |date=6 September 2013 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Joint-Submission-on-MPRDA-Amendment-Bill-6-Sept-2013-Administrative-Justice-Consultation-and-Access-to-Information.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2013submission, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{Submission to Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources on the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Amendment Bill [B15-2013]}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2013}, month = sep, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Joint-Submission-on-MPRDA-Amendment-Bill-6-Sept-2013-Administrative-Justice-Consultation-and-Access-to-Information.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }