South Africa’s democracy is 30 years old but, in that time, its public market system has failed to be democratised. Admittedly, large institutions on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange are investing provident fund and pension funds money of a large portion of the population.
But the South African economy and the South African people could be elevated into a new investment era if the way were opened for individuals to grow their own investment portfolios as well.
Public funding is now being provided for mineral exploration and a new mineral cadastre is being build. Those two advances could provide the platform for inclusive participation by small-end investment. The highly successful schemes offered by the likes of Canada and Australia show that public market participation can be a major advantage for small investors and a great win for the mining economy, which, in turn, floats very many boats across a wide spectrum.
Once an efficient mineral licensing administration is in place, National Treasury will no longer have an excuse to refuse to provide the tax incentives that have helped to build the economies of competing jurisdictions so successfully.