The Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Zuko Godlimpi says mining continues to play a significant role in South Africa’s economy and it remains a catalyst for change towards a decarbonised, net-zero economic model. Godlimpi was addressing the South Africa-European Union Investment Seminar on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba currently taking place in Cape Town, Western Cape.
According to Godlimpi, a priority of the South African government is to move to a more sustainable and responsible system that adds value locally and contributes to South Africa’s transition to move up the value chain.
“In order to facilitate investments towards the beneficiation of the critical minerals, South Africa has developed a clear value proposition that provides a good basis for our engagements with partners. The value proposition is premised on the following five pillars, namely the abundance of critical or transition minerals in South Africa and the Southern African Development Community region; strong automotive sector; large local demand for stationary energy storage; market access; and investor support” said Godlimpi.
He acknowledged that the mining and processing sectors are well-established, however, as a country, South Africa requires equity and technology partners for re-industrialisation and capacity expansion.
“The region is thus driven to ensure that these minerals are going to be beneficiated in the continent to promote shared prosperity in the green transition. We cannot afford to be locked into the lower end of the value chain as mere suppliers of primary products,” he said.
Godlimpi added that South Africa’s decarbonisation strategy was based on a principled approach of ensuring that there is processing of mineral resources and value addition of these minerals as close to the source as possible.
“The historic value chains based on mainly pit-to-port activities, especially in the resource extraction from developing countries, and Africa in particular, must be done away with to enable socio-economic development of communities and people where those natural resources are found,” said Godlimpi.
Total trade between South Africa and the European Union grew by 65%, rising from approximately R515 billion in 2016, when the agreement came into force, to R851.7 billion in 2023.
South Africa’s exports to the European Union increased by 89% from approximately R205 billion in 2016 to R389 billion in 2023. At the same time, imports from the European Union increased by 49%, from approximately R309.5 billion in 2016 to R464.7 billion in 2023.
