AfriForum submitted comments on the draft Artisanal and Small-scale Mining Policy on the 17 June 2021. The policy was published by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy in the Government Gazette of 5 May 2021.
While AfriForum welcomes the publication of the draft policy and considers the publication a step in the right direction, it also has certain concerns with the draft policy.
“We emphasise two considerations which we believe should be foundational principles of any such policy. The first is that the policy must not legitimize illegal mining,” says Lambert de Klerk, Manager for Environmental Affairs at AfriForum.“The second is that the policy must not compromise the protection that the Constitution and in current legislation give to the environment and to property rights.”
AfriForum believes that it is important to comment on these policies and other regulations to not only protect our members, but to protect the environment in which they live so we can build a sustainable future.