SA's mining output plunges in March
Article By: Staff Reporter iafrica.com
Thu, 12 May 2016 2:21 PM and Tue, 10 May 2016 2:34 PM
South Africa's mining output suffered its biggest drop on record during March, according to Statistics South Africa.
According to data, total mining output dropped 18 percent in March year-on-year compared to a the 8.3 percent drop in February. The drop was attributed to last year's increase in mining activity following the five-month long strike in 2014.
"It's the biggest year-on-year drop ever," Stats SA's Juan-Pierre Terblanche said in a Reuters report. "It's a base effect of last year when there was a big spike after the mines recovered fast after the strike."
A number of platinum mining companies are still suffering from the effects of the 2014 strike and from the low commodity prices.
It seems as if the Government's continuous harmful policy decisions may have a bigger effect on the economy than what we all hope for.
The Public Investment Corporation lost more than R100-billion when President Jacob Zuma fired Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister, PIC chief executive Daniel Matjila said.
Matjila appeared before Parliament's standing committee on finance on Tuesday and answered questions from MPs on the PIC's investment mandates as well as the details on the entities and firms that it invests in, Fin24 reported.
Democratic Alliance MP, David Maynier, asked Matjila what impact Nene's sacking had on the PIC's assets.
Matjila told the committee that the Government Employees Pension Fund lost R95bn, the UIF lost R7bn, the Compensation Fund lost R3bn, while other funds forbore R1.2bn.
He added that the PIC had seen a significant recovery.
Where will Government get the funds from to compensate for this loss?
We all know how much the additional travel regulations with unabridged birth certificates requirements for travelers to and from South Africa have cost the tourism industry. A statement like this one in Parliament may look good to the voters when a minister want to gain popularity, but vanity in Parliament is costing the country billions!
The poor taxpayers will most likely be the main source of income for the defecits in the state coffers.
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