{"id":95565,"date":"2026-02-10T07:22:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T07:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-decision-costing-300000-jobs-in-south-africa"},"modified":"2026-02-10T07:47:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T07:47:35","slug":"government-decision-costing-300000-jobs-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-decision-costing-300000-jobs-in-south-africa","title":{"rendered":"Government Decision Costing 300000 Jobs in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>South Africa has wasted the golden opportunity presented by its rich mineral wealth by constraining the mining sector to the point of stagnation and decline.<\/p>\n

One government policy, enacted in 2002, is arguably the source of the sector\u2019s decline \u2013 the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA).<\/p>\n

This legislation, by shifting private mineral rights ownership to state custodianship, has played a large role in the mining sector\u2019s decline, with the industry having shrunk by 11.5% since 1994.<\/p>\n

This has seen employment in the sector steadily contract from its 1987 peak of over 760,000 jobs to around 465,000 today.<\/p>\n

In a recent research note, the Bureau for Economic Research\u2019s (BER) Robert Botha explained that the decline of South Africa\u2019s mining industry is largely due to policy, regulatory and bureaucratic obstacles, rather than geological exhaustion.<\/p>\n

In fact, the country boasts one of the world\u2019s greatest sources of mineral wealth, with an endowment of global significance.<\/p>\n

Botha particularly highlighted South Africa\u2019s platinum group metals (PGMs), manganese, and chromium deposits \u2013 commodities he described as critical to the global energy transition.<\/p>\n

However, he explained that, despite this geological lottery, the sector faces various constraints that have prevented it from taking full advantage of successive commodity booms.<\/p>\n

Therefore, instead of using its impressive mineral endowment to its advantage, South Africa\u2019s government has constrained the sector to the point of decline.<\/p>\n

Botha explained that, despite successive commodity price booms, in real terms the sector has declined since 1994.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver this period, the sector contracted by 0.29% on average. By 2024, the sector was nearly 12% smaller than in 1994,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Botha attributed this decline largely to policy constraints, specifically pointing to the influence of the MPRDA of 2002.<\/p>\n

This legislation essentially abolished private ownership of minerals, vesting them in the state to ensure equitable access to, and sustainable development of, South Africa\u2019s resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe MPRDA framework changed the ownership model and operating environment of the mining sector, giving the state a mandate to manage mineral resources,\u201d Botha explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy transforming mineral rights from immovable property into state-granted permits, the MPRDA reoriented the sector\u2019s operational and legal foundations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The graph below, courtesy of the BER, shows the decline in South Africa\u2019s mining sector from 1994 to today.<\/p>\n

From sunset to sunrise<\/b><\/p>\n

Botha said the MRPDA led to policy uncertainty, which has also been exacerbated by a series of legal challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe regulatory environment is currently in a state of flux,\u201d he explained. \u201cThe shift to state custodianship under the MPRDA introduced profound fears regarding security of tenure and property rights.<\/p>\n

Policy uncertainty is a serious concern across industries, but it is particularly constraining for the mining sector.<\/p>\n

Modern Corporate Solutions mining analyst Peter Major previously explained that this is because of the long lead times mining investors need to contend with, as it typically takes 17 years to get a mine from the investment stage to operating at full capacity.<\/p>\n

Major also pointed to the MPRDA as a notable constraint on investment in the mining sector, due to the uncertainty it created.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you imagine working your whole life, decades, building the most modern, efficient plant? And then you wake up one day, and the dirt it is sitting on is no longer yours?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government tells you, \u2018Your plant may be sitting on some dirt, but you don\u2019t own any of that dirt. And if you do everything we tell you, you might use it for 20 years, 25 years, and then we will decide if we want to renew it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Major explained that this effectively kills the investment case for mining in South Africa, with the hurdle for investing in the country being extremely high.<\/p>\n

\u201cMines are a hundred-year investments. So, are you happy investing now? Somebody else took away your minerals, but they will let you borrow them with a lot of different terms and conditions than the day before,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. South Africa has wasted the golden opportunity presented by its rich mineral wealth by constraining the mining sector to the point of stagnation and decline. One government policy, enacted in 2002, is arguably the source of the sector\u2019s decline \u2013 the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA). This legislation, by shifting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":95564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-95565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nGovernment Decision Costing 300000 Jobs in South Africa - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"South Africa has wasted the golden opportunity presented by its rich mineral wealth by constraining the mining sector to ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-decision-costing-300000-jobs-in-south-africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Government Decision Costing 300000 Jobs in South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Africa has wasted the golden opportunity presented by its rich mineral wealth by constraining the mining sector to ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-decision-costing-300000-jobs-in-south-africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-10T07:22:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-10T07:47:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/02\/sm_1770697013.778639.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-decision-costing-300000-jobs-in-south-africa#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-decision-costing-300000-jobs-in-south-africa\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Government Decision Costing 300000 Jobs in South Africa\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-10T07:22:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-10T07:47:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-decision-costing-300000-jobs-in-south-africa\"},\"wordCount\":664,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-decision-costing-300000-jobs-in-south-africa#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/02\/sm_1770697013.778639.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-decision-costing-300000-jobs-in-south-africa#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-decision-costing-300000-jobs-in-south-africa\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-decision-costing-300000-jobs-in-south-africa\",\"name\":\"Government Decision Costing 300000 Jobs in South Africa - 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