MIL Africa Engine

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Senior Advisor at the Presidential Climate Commission, Dipak Patel, as Deputy Chairperson of the Commission.

Patel previously served as the Senior Advisor for Climate Finance and Innovation at the commission and his new tenure will begin this year and end in 2030.

“Mr Patel’s designation as Deputy Chairperson forms part of strengthening the commission’s work on climate finance, investment mobilisation and the delivery of South Africa’s Just Energy Transition objective.

“Mr Patel is an experienced professional with expertise in production management, process engineering, climate finance, and investment banking, and has strong networks across the business and public sectors,” the Presidency said in a statement on Monday.

Some 25 new commissioners were also appointed by President Ramaphosa earlier this year.

READ | President announces new Climate Commissioners

“The commission is an independent, statutory, multi-stakeholder body that oversees and facilitates South Africa’s just and equitable transition towards a low-emissions and climate-resilient economy,” the statement read. – SAnews.gov.za

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Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport Kedibone Diale-Tlabela has outlined responsibilities that scholar transport operators must fulfil to advance their applications for operating within the legal framework.

To ensure compliance, operators must enter into formal agreements with parents, including signed indemnity forms granting responsibility to transport learners.

Vehicles used for scholar transport should also be roadworthy.

“They must also obtain endorsement letters from School Governing Bodies (SGBs) or school principals confirming that they transport learners from those institutions. The department has engaged the Gauteng Department of Education to facilitate this process,” the MEC said.

The MEC was addressing the Provincial Scholar Transport Stakeholder Engagement Meeting at the Johannesburg City Hall on Sunday.

The gathering served as a critical platform to advance discussions on shared responsibilities in ensuring learner safety, strengthening compliance enforcement, and addressing operational challenges faced by scholar transport operators across the province.

The meeting brought together scholar transport operators, industry stakeholders, and government representatives.

Diale-Tlabela stressed that government is committed to supporting operators to regularise their operations.

“The department has engaged private Vehicle Testing Stations (VTS) across Gauteng and negotiated reduced testing fees to make compliance more accessible. There is no excuse for transporting children in unroadworthy vehicles.

“As the Department of Roads and Transport, our responsibility is to assist them and ensure they operate within the law. But we must meet each other halfway,” she said.

Since the department intensified its compliance drive last year, more than 1 500 scholar transport operators have applied for operating licences. 

Of these, over 500 licences have already been issued, while 1 009 applications are currently in the finalisation stage. 

Some applications remain pending due to outstanding municipal concurrence, incomplete documentation, or changes in applicants’ contact details.

In the past two weeks alone, more than 600 application forms were collected from departmental offices, yet only 54 completed forms were returned. 

The MEC urged operators experiencing challenges to return to the department for assistance.

“If you are struggling with the process, come back to us. Our doors are open. But we cannot finalise your operating licence without the required documents. Learner safety cannot be compromised,” she said.

READ | Engagements continue to resolve public scholar transport payment matters. – SAnews.gov.za

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The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Willie Aucamp, has assured the mining community that environmental legislation and regulations are not designed to hinder development, but to ensure that it is responsible, sustainable and resilient in the long term.

“In fact, they are inseparable and can yield much-needed economic benefit for all South Africans. Striking the balance is often difficult because South Africans need and want economic development, but not at the expense of the environment,” the Minister said on Sunday.

Aucamp was addressing the Mining Indaba Critical Minerals Ministerial Roundtable in Cape Town, which brought together African leaders, industry stakeholders, and investors to discuss the responsible development of the continent’s mineral resources amid global geopolitical uncertainty.

“In line with the department’s mandate, I have a constitutional and legislative mandate to protect the environment, enforce environmental laws, and integrate sustainability into various economic sectors. This includes the mining sector. In this regard, I serve as the appeal authority for Environmental Authorisations issued for prospecting and mining activities,” the Minister said.

In the mining context, this translates into the following responsibilities:
•    Ensuring that environmental authorisations are credible, transparent and that decisions issued are legally defensible.
•    Ensuring that such decisions do not negatively impact water resources, ecosystems and biodiversity.
•    Enforcing compliance with environmental conditions of authorisation and rehabilitation obligations.
•    Support climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts; and 
•    ensure that environmental governance contributes to investment certainty and does not create unnecessary delays.

“I remain fully committed to working closely with the Department of Minerals and Petroleum (DMPR) to improve alignment and streamline processes and timeframes, where possible, within the environmental management sector. 

“My department is already engaging with the DMPR in this regard, including through our ongoing collaboration on the Mineral Resources Development Bill.” 

Published in May 2025, the bill aims to restructure the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002 to amend and insert new definitions and to provide for matters relating to small-scale and artisanal mining among others.

“Together we can ensure that South Africa’s mining sector grows in a manner that support’s economic development, protect our natural heritage and delivers lasting benefits for generations to come,” the Minister said.

In his address at the Ministerial Symposium on Sunday, Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe said discussions at the Mining Indaba must focus on collaborations that will unlock the full potential of critical minerals for the benefit of all people. – SAnews.gov.za
 

 

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The Enquiry into the Fitness to Hold Office of Advocate Andrew Chauke, known as the Nkabinde Enquiry, is expected to resume hearings this morning with evidence leaders expected to present a request for postponement of proceedings.

The inquiry is led by retired Justice Baaitse Elizabeth Nkabinde and was established in September last year to investigate and determine the fitness to hold office of Advocate Chauke, the Director of Public Prosecutions for the South Gauteng Division.

“When the hearings resume, the Evidence Leaders will present an application for the postponement of the public hearings by one week, to 17 February 2026, in order to finalise preparations for forthcoming witnesses and to ensure the orderly and uninterrupted continuation of the enquiry’s proceedings,” enquiry spokesperson, Tiyisela Mpuzana said.

An opposing application by Chauke’s legal team is also expected to be heard.

“It is further anticipated that, arising from the opposing application, the Chauke legal team will present a counter-application in relation to the same matter.

“The Enquiry Panel, chaired by Justice Bess Nkabinde, and assisted by Advocate Baloyi-Mere SC and Attorney Matshego Ramagaga, will, after due consideration, announce its ruling on the applications to be heard on Monday, 09 February 2026,” Mpuzana concluded.

Last month President Cyril Ramaphosa granted an extension for the completion date for the Nkabinde Inquiry.– SAnews.gov.za

 

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Botswana and Zambia have positioned themselves as key partners in Africa’s push for mineral beneficiation, energy security, and regional industrialisation, as leaders from both countries called for deeper cooperation and long-term investment.

The two countries said this at Brand South Africa’s Investing in Africa Mining Indaba Welcome Reception on Sunday night.

Botswana’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security, Bogolo Kenewendo, said her country is deliberately shifting from an extractive mining model towards industrialisation, energy security, and regional value chains.

Kenewendo said Botswana’s long-standing reputation as a stable and transparent mining jurisdiction provides a strong foundation for its next phase of growth, which would be driven by beneficiation, downstream manufacturing, and cross-border integration.

“We are looking for serious partners, and not exploitation and exploration, but in beneficiation, in processing, and in the downstream manufacturing. If your minds are thinking beyond the pit into smelting, refining, fabrication, or regional supply, Botswana wants to work with you now,” she said.  

Without energy, she said, industrialisation would not be possible, noting that Botswana is aggressively expanding its power base through renewable energy, base-load generation and cross-border power agreements within the Southern African Power Pool, including cooperation with Zambia, Namibia and South Africa.

Head of Investments: Mining and Energy at the Industrial Development Corporation of Zambia, Mulumba Lwatula, echoed the call for regional collaboration, saying Africa must drive its own development agenda by leveraging continental strengths.

Lwatula said Zambia now views itself as “land-linked” rather than landlocked, positioning the country as a logistics and trade hub within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). 

He said Zambia was implementing mining sector reforms and creating platforms for partnerships with junior explorers, major mining companies, and regional governments to expand copper production and support the global energy transition.

He added that regional cooperation, particularly with South Africa’s established mining expertise and infrastructure, would be critical to building human capital, scaling production, and strengthening Africa’s role in global value chains.

Sunday’s reception, which was addressed by Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Kenny Morolong, was held ahead of the official opening of the Mining Indaba on Monday, 09 February in Cape Town.– SAnews.gov.za

 

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Africa’s mineral wealth is placing the continent at the centre of future industries, from clean energy to advanced manufacturing, as demand for critical minerals accelerates the global energy transition. 

This is according to Deputy Minister in The Presidency Kenny Morolong, who was delivering the keynote address at Brand South Africa’s Investing in Africa Mining Indaba Welcome Reception Dinner held at The Capital Hotel in Cape Town on Sunday evening.

Held ahead of the official opening of the Mining Indaba on Monday, 09 February, Morolong said Africa is moving decisively from being a supplier of raw materials to becoming a global hub for industrial value addition, driven by clean energy technologies and advanced manufacturing.

“Our mobilising theme for this evening is industrialising Africa at scale, the role of strategic minerals, integrated infrastructure and continental policy, which speaks to a bold vision for our continent’s future.”
He said minerals were the backbone of modern economies and would become even more critical as the world decarbonises.

“Wherever we are or come from in the world, metals and minerals are part of our daily lives. Minerals are a lifeblood of any modern and modernising society,” he said.

Morolong added that Africa now has an “unprecedented opportunity to move from being a mere supplier of raw materials to becoming a hub of industrial value addition and innovation.”

He said the demand outlook for critical minerals underscored the urgency of Africa’s industrialisation drive, noting that minerals such as lithium and rare earth elements would soon surpass fossil fuels in global value.
“These are the new oils of the 21st century.”

Morolong noted that demand for minerals such as rare earth elements and lithium is projected to nearly triple by 2030 and quadruple by 2040, while cumulative revenues from critical minerals between now and 2050 are expected to be more than three times greater than those from fossil fuels.

“In other words, these minerals, all of which are found beneath African soil, will be significantly valuable to the global economy than oil or gas in the coming decades.”

He said this global shift places Africa and South Africa in particular at the forefront of future industries.
“As [the] South African government, we see Africa as a continent on the cusp of transformation. South Africa is a proponent, and a gateway to a fully integrated African economy that will no longer be defined by trade in raw materials, but by the production of tertiary goods such as battery, solar panels in electronics and industrial products that will power the 21st century.

“We invite our partners and investors congregated here tonight, and the rest of the week, to join us on this journey of a long-term partnership and shared prosperity,” the Deputy Minister said.

Value addition
Morolong said African countries have already begun restricting the export of unprocessed critical minerals to ensure value addition takes place on the continent.

“What this says is that we Africans are no longer content to merely supply the inputs of industrial economies. It says we want to capture the downstream opportunities and build industries for ourselves in the global economy.”

This shift is supported by continental policy frameworks, including the African Union’s African Green Minerals Strategy adopted in 2024, which guides countries on harnessing critical minerals for industrialisation.

Improving the investment climate
Turning to South Africa’s mining sector, Morolong said mining remains a cornerstone of the economy and must be managed sustainably.

“Minerals and metals account for nearly half of South Africa’s export by value, and mineral production is equivalent to about 10% of our GDP [Gross Domestic Product],” he said.

He said the government is implementing reforms to improve the investment climate, including streamlining licensing processes, addressing energy constraints and reforming logistics and port infrastructure.
“Government has raised [the] licensing threshold to encourage private power generation, enabling mining companies to invest in their own renewable energy plants.”

He stressed that infrastructure development remains central to Africa’s industrial ambitions.
“You cannot build a competitive and reliable industrial base without reliable power, good transport networks and efficient logistics,” he said.

Morolong also reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which he said would unlock economies of scale by creating a single African market valued at US$3.4 trillion.
“As we pursue growth through mining and industrialisation, we are keenly aware that our progress must be sustainable and inclusive,” he said, adding that developing human capital is essential to the continent’s industrial future.

He invited investors to partner with Africa on a long-term basis.

“We seek long-term partnerships that offer mutually beneficial outcomes, attractive returns for investors and sustainable development for our people,” Morolong said.

The reception, hosted by Brand South Africa, set the tone for the Mining Indaba 2026, bringing together global leaders, policymakers, investors and industry stakeholders ahead of a week of engagements under the theme: “Mining in Transformation: Fuelling Africa’s sustainable future.” 

READ | Morolong to address Brand SA Mining Indaba reception

By convening senior government leaders, captains of industry, continental institutions and international investors, the reception positions Africa’s mineral resources at the centre of global conversations on industrialisation, infrastructure development and long-term socio-economic transformation. – SAnews.gov.za

 

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