SAIIA SUBMISSION: TO PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AMENDMENT BILL 2013 (PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON MINING, PARLIAMENT OF SOUTH AFRICA)

The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) argues that the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill 2013 requires greater transparency and less ministerial discretion to attract investment and ensure sustainable development. Drawing on Botswana's success, SAIIA recommends against replacing the 'first-in, first-assessed' licensing system with auctions without better geoscience data, suggests introducing 'retention licences' to secure tenure, and advises against the state acting as both regulator and operator through free carried interests. The submission highlights that Botswana's high ranking in the Fraser Institute Survey is due to institutional quality and predictable legislation, contrasting this with South Africa's regulatory uncertainty.

• The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill (MPRD-AB) contains excessive room for ministerial discretion, which SAIIA argues must be reduced to ensure the legislation is transparently and efficiently administered.
• SAIIA recommends revisiting the proposal to repeal the 'first-in, first-assessed' (fifa) system for exploration licenses in favor of auction bids, noting that South Africa lacks the high-quality geoscience information necessary to make such a system transparent and fair.
• To improve security of tenure for private operators, South Africa should adopt a 'retention licence' similar to Botswana's Mines and Minerals Act, allowing companies to retain exclusive rights to a discovered deposit even if production is deferred.
• The state should avoid granting free carried interests to state mining companies on new explorations to prevent a conflict of interest where the state acts as both 'player and referee'.
• Botswana's success in avoiding the 'resource curse' is attributed to high-quality institutions that provide secure property rights and a predictable legislative framework, rather than a lack of government intervention.
• There is a significant disparity in investment attractiveness between the two nations, with Botswana ranking 17th and South Africa 64th out of 96 jurisdictions in the 2012/13 Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2013). SAIIA SUBMISSION: TO PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AMENDMENT BILL 2013 (PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON MINING, PARLIAMENT OF SOUTH AFRICA). https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SAIIA_Submission_MPRD_Amendment_2013.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. SAIIA SUBMISSION: TO PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AMENDMENT BILL 2013 (PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON MINING, PARLIAMENT OF SOUTH AFRICA). 2013. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SAIIA_Submission_MPRD_Amendment_2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=SAIIA SUBMISSION: TO PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AMENDMENT BILL 2013 (PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON MINING, PARLIAMENT OF SOUTH AFRICA) |date=6 September 2013 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SAIIA_Submission_MPRD_Amendment_2013.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2013saiia, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{SAIIA SUBMISSION: TO PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AMENDMENT BILL 2013 (PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON MINING, PARLIAMENT OF SOUTH AFRICA)}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2013}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SAIIA_Submission_MPRD_Amendment_2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }