In the past, the private sector owned and controlled South Africa’s mineral endowment and the public sector of the day looked on and collected the taxes. But from 1994 the public sector took over ownership and control of the mineral endowment and the private sector not only battled to get mining rights but also no longer showed any interest in the risky business of exploration because the exploration incentives of other mining jurisdictions around the world never existed here.
But concern about the absence of exploration intensified to a point where, in the early 2000s, the National Treasury concurred that tax incentives should be introduced to stimulate risky exploration. But the Treasury refused to follow proven practice and insisted on reinventing the wheel. The two home-made incentives that were concocted had to be thrown into the bin because they were so useless.
But the time has now arrived for the Treasury to agree to what brings tax, job and growth fortunes to other mining jurisdictions. National Treasury, you concurred that incentives were needed but then mucked up. Swallow your pride and allow what the other mining jurisdictions have proven generates wealth, jobs, growth, and enormous taxes for their national treasuries.