[miningmx.com] — THE Government said it was looking to reassure investors, especially those in the mining sector, and telling them they don’t need to be concerned over further unrest in the wake of the massacre at Lonmin’s Marikana mine.
Cabinet ministers apppointed to the inter-ministerial task team after the massacre on August 16, said in a statement on Monday police violence was not a reflection of South Africa’s business climate.
Mining was carrrying on without any problems in other parts of North-West province and the country as a whole, said Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane.
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies was meeting his British counterpart in London this week for talks that would include the effect of the Marikana massacre on foreign direct investment in South Africa.
In reply to a question at a news conference about whether he would try to convince investors that South Africa remains a good investment destination when he appears at a Brics conference in London later this week, Davies said he would be meeting with the British Business Secretary, Vince Cable, over the issue.
Davies said research showed that the level of foreign direct investment remained positive. “Marikana hasn’t had an overall negative impact on the investment pipeline or the market. It has had more of a specific negative impact on Lonmin and other parts of the platinum industry,’ Davies said.
At the announcement of the Industrial Development Corporation’s annual results on Monday, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel confirmed what his colleagues had said. “South Africa remains stable for investment,’ he said in reply to questions about Marikana.
