The Tuesday leg of the conference was a completely virtual session, but it seemed the organisers were stuck in the 20th century.
Eventually, organisers managed to email links to various events — forget about trying to log on via the website — with varied success. The session on land reform was going reasonably smoothly, but then suddenly died. “We are inviting investors to come and tell us where there are obstacles,” he said, adding that such obstacles could be removed. That certainly hit the right note. Mantashe, with his trade union roots, takes naturally to negotiation and talks.
But the usual constraints, such as unreliable power supplies, remain firmly in place. Mantashe acknowledged that “self-generation” for the industry was crucial. Yet Gold Fields is still waiting after three years for permission to start a solar project to help power its South Deep mine. Many of the obstacles to investment in the sector are already known, but have not been removed.
4IR? Every revolution is hard...
Eventually, organisers managed to email links to various events — forget about trying to log on via the website — with varied success. The session on land reform was going reasonably smoothly, but then suddenly died. Pretty much like the farmers on the land?
It’s an indication of the seriousness in which the government does its job.😀