National Assembly passes amendments to mining legislation - Eyewitness News

JOHANNESBURG - The National Assembly has passed long-delayed and controversial amendments to mining legislation despite heated opposition objections.The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) amendment bill will now be referred to the National Council of Provinces.Initially passed just before the 2014 national elections, President Jacob Zuma held back from signing the bill into law.Instead he referred it back to Parliament because of concerns about whether it would pass constitutional muster.Opposition MPs heckled and jeered as Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane introduced debate on the amended mining bill, with the Economic Freedom Fighters objecting to his very presence in the house.Min Resources Minister Moebenzi Zwane taking flak from EFF in Parliament: "Why should be be addressed by Gupta agents here?"#MPRDA GD— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) November 1, 2016“Deputy Speaker there’s an issue that Zwane was appointed by Guptas, that issue is sub judice, why should we be addressed by Gupta agents here," asked one parliamentarian.The bill, among other things, empowers the minister to designate “strategic minerals” that must then be offered to local manufacturers at discounted prices, to boost local beneficiation of the country’s mineral resources.Zwane was upbeat about the changes to the bill: “Legislators have now satisfied themselves that the bill will pass constitutional muster.”But opposition parties - the Democratic Alliance, Inkatha Freedom Party and the African Christian Democratic Party - warned the bill could have dire consequences for a mining sector already under strain.(Edited by Zamangwane Shange)