The bellicose tone of mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe tearing into the management of Gold Fields about the month-long strike at the South Deep mine is yet another instance in which the minister raises eyebrows.
To make public his views on the management acting in “bad faith” in dealing with the 1,500 job cuts at the perennially unprofitable South Deep mine is one thing, but making a serious allegation like that is quite another.
In a situation featuring high levels of violence and intimidation, the minister’s comments are inflammatory and give the strikers the sense they have a powerful ally against executives trying to save a failing mine. For an industry regulator to be seen taking sides is far from ideal.
Anyone with an interest in SA’s mining industry would think that Mantashe, the former general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, is siding with the union, which has called a strike at South Deep to protest against the job cuts...