Nationalisation of Mines in South Africa

Historically, the South African economy has been largely unstable mostly due to political issues. Although, considering its counterparts, South Africa shows the most promise for economic development and growth (Jordaan, 2010 pg.5). In 1990 South Africa entered the global market after overcoming major political issues such as apartheid. Many economists agree that the changes the South African government has made to be able to compete globally, are for the better (Wessel, 2007). In the article “CAPITAL: Globalization Brings South

In the beginning, control was limited to colonial authorities securing the loyalty of African chiefs and kings. This meant that African chiefs would trade only with their colonial government. Towards the end of the 19th century colonial governments began to play a more active role in the affairs of African societies. The economic history of South Africa owed much to mineral extractions which started in the 1870s. The growth of manufacturing and the retreat of agriculture are directly linked to the dependence of the economy on mining and mineral exploitation. As Seeraj Mohamed (2010) argues, “historically, economic development in South Africa has been centred around extractive activities in mining and mineral sectors.The economic history of South Africa has been characterised by the “politics of oppression of black South Africans and the strict control over black

This paper will be outlining the basic structure of the laws that segregated the black population of South Africa throughout the 1900’s. It will also be explaining important people involved in the dismantling of apartheid and the foreign nations that helped to influence South Africa’s government to change. However, the primary goal for this paper is to inform the reader about the reasoning behind apartheid, the events leading up to it, and how it was reformed.

For example, in 2012, Georgina Hope Rinehart, heiress of Hancock Prospecting, a private Australia mineral exploitation company brought in 1,700 foreign workers as a result of globalisation. This increased access to cheap labour decreased the level of domestic employment in Australia, leaving smaller portions of the profits from the resource boom in the poor’s

The inevitable growth of globalisation over the past few decades has gradually created the occurrence we now know as the “Trans-national Corporation (TNCs)”. This essay will aim to the highlight and explain the situation in which nation states are continually being reformed by these TNCs.

In the 1900’s there was zero fairness in South Africa. They were pushed around and had no say in what they did. They were pushed off of their land and everything was taken away from them. They had no say in what they did. But why, why did it take them so long to do something about it. Why did they not stand up before. It took them fifty years to say something and stand up. This essay will speak of some of the things it could of been of why they didn’t do something sooner.

This report single-mindedly analyses on the function of mining in society, in addition to its social, environmental and economic impacts. In Australia the indigenous communities claim to their ancestral land recognised under the Native Titles Act which establishes channels of negotiation with mining companies before carrying they are able operations. The environmental toll of mines and the part it plays in designing the mine’s waste management systems and plant designs is also analysed. Finally the case study of Anvil Hill Coal mine, and the Argyle Diamond Mine are all conducted in this report, accompanied by recommendation for improvement.

The neoliberal policies, which South Africa has implemented after the end of the Apartheid era, has lead to increased inequality, both on the national as well as the global level. This has led many to argue that South Africa today faces a new kind of imperialism, one that is not so much based on political subordination but rather on a new type of economic subordination through a so-called "empire of capital". This idea, among others, falls under the broader theory of "economic imperialism".

During the year 1968 this company acquires the US Borax who was considered to be the world’s largest deposit in the field of industrial minerals.

In today’s world of global trading, multinational corporations that are looking to expand on profits turn out to operate against the welfares of the world’s poorest countries. In the documentary, “Stealing Africa,” the film director, Christoffer Guldbrandsen, brings forward the concerning economic attention of the country of Zambia, located in South Africa. Zambia is known as the third largest copper reserves across the world, owned by multinational corporations globally. Due to such a heavy abundance of natural resources in Africa, the majority of the economy of Zambia revolves around the mining industry, which is like the backbone of the country. As the natural resources in Zambia remain rich, multinational companies, specifically Glencore, grew in investments resulting in the guilt of tax avoidance and undervaluing copper, which resulted in a downfall for the revenue of copper in the nation of Zambia. Guldbrandsen talks about the country of Zambia’s abundance of natural resources, yet their struggle to remain above the poverty line, as it is ranked in the top 20 poorest countries. Guldbrandsen insists that due to privatization starting from the year of 2001, the mining industry in Zambia has taken a downfall. Although the country of Zambia is very rich in resources, maintains the top copper mine in the world, a person a day lives below a dollar and almost eighty percent of the population remains unemployed.

Small-scale mining is not an important public revenue-generating sector for the government at present because of its largely illegal nature. Viewed in a more positive light, the activity should become a solid tax base when fully licensed, given the large number of people and economic activities dependent on it.

The superimposing factor that gives South Africa such an advantage over other prospective African business environments is that it possesses of a very powerful and sophisticated vantage-point geographically. South Africa is strategically located for manufacturing and exportation into several regions globally and can be an unmitigated platform for MNC’s who may be interested in a venture within this region. The important advantages include regional competitiveness, combined with reduced operational costs and a significantly prominent market access (Safrica.info, 2011).

Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. The people of South Africa struggle day by day to reverse “the most cruel, yet well-crafted,” horrific tactic “of social engineering.” The concept behind apartheid emerged in 1948 when the nationalist party took over government, and the all-white government enforced “racial segregation under a system of legislation” . The central issues stem from 50 years of apartheid include poverty, income inequality, land ownership rates and many other long term affects that still plague the brunt of the South African population while the small white minority still enjoy much of the wealth, most of the land and opportunities

South Africa endured one of the worst colonialisation any country could have went through, whereby the Apartheid regime objectively disregarded the economic participation of the black over to those of the white population. However, the new democratic government would thereby be challenged with effectively having to deal with the challenges in which the past government had left behind. Therefore, in effectively trying to deal with the issues, alternative approaches have to be implemented in order to deliver on the challenges of the public. On the contrary, this essay will critically compare and discuss the liberal and free market, as well as the state interventionist approach as alternative solutions in dealing with current issues of social security, the health and school systems. Which would be able to transform current developmental challenges facing South Africa. In summary, the essay will thereby state which approach can transform South Africa in effectively dealing with developmental challenges currently facing South Africa.

South Africa is world leading in mining. The discovery of minerals in this country has attractive many investors and has been the backbone of the country’s economy – leading to many benefits that the people of South Africa could take advantage of. However, not all the benefits are shared equally, and there is a lot of exploitation surrounding the mining sector. This essay will be discussing the issues surrounding the labour exploitation in the mines and the resulting consequences.