The Portfolio Committee on Mineral and Petroleum Resources has welcomed progress in establishing the South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC), which is set to begin operation on 1 April 2025.
The process to establish SANPC was set in motion by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address on 13 February 2020 when he announced the government’s intention to repurpose and rationalise state-owned enterprises to support the country’s growth and development.
The committee is pleased with the work done thus far, following Cabinet’s decision on 10 June 2020 to merge PetroSA, iGas and Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF) into SANPC.
The merger project is facilitated under the umbrella of the Central Energy Fund Group, a Schedule 2 state-owned diversified energy company reporting to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources.
The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Mikateko Mahlaule, said that the committee is particularly pleased with the report that a memorandum of understanding to seamlessly transfer employees from PetroSA, iGas and SFF to SANPC has been signed with organised labour.
“We welcome this clarity because employees are the primary agents of change, whose buy-in plays a critical role in the success of any project,” said Mr Mahlaule.
In October 2024, Cabinet approved submitting the South African National Petroleum Company Bill of 2024 to Parliament. The Bill establishes SANPC, but until it is passed into law, the company will exist under the CEF mandate derived from the CEF Act 38 of 1977 and Ministerial directives.
The committee, however, is deeply concerned about the process of transferring assets from PetroSA, iGas and SFF to SANPC. Of most concern is the unbundling of assets into viable and non-viables.
“We discourage the ring-fencing of non-viable assets with the intention of leaving them behind for fixing, because, in our view, this goes against the spirit of the merger, which is to address mandate overlap and optimise resources,” Mr Mahlaule said.
He also noted the concern that a second layer of responsibility will be added when non-viable assets are ring-fenced for fixing, because there must be a team of capable individuals appointed to fix such assets.
Africa Fact: West African gold mining took place on a vast scale. One modern writer said that: “It is estimated that the total amount of gold mined in West Africa up to 1500 was 3,500 tons, worth more than $30 billion in today’s market.”
Bleeker
A South African, an Australian and an Englishman are all having a drink
The Englishman and South African both drink from Pint Glasses, the Australian from a bottle.
The South African, upon draining his glass, drops in back down on the bar, pulls out a pistol, and shoots the glass.
\”In South Africa, there is so much sand that I never drink from the same glass twice!\”
The Australian, having drained his bottle, sets it down upon the bar and, upon seizing the South African\’s pistol, shoots his bottle.
\”In Australia, there is so much booze that I never drink from the same brand twice!\”
The Englishman, likewise having drained his glass, sets his glass upon the table, seizes the pistol the pistol from the Australian, and shoots the South African and the Australian, quite dead.
\”In England, there are so many of you bastards that I never drink with the same two twice!\”
Sky Bully
Fun South African Fact: Table Mountain, one of the iconic landmarks of South Africa, is one of the oldest mountains in the world