South African Youth Group Wants State Ownership of Mines

South African ruling party youth league president Julius Malema has reiterated the call for the nationalisation of industries inside the country.
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S.Africa youth group wants state ownership of mines

Mon Feb 1, 2010 1:33pm GMT
By Peroshni Govender

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The militant youth wing of South Africa's ruling ANC reiterated on Monday that it would push for the nationalisation of local industries starting with mines, saying investors afraid of the process were not welcome.

ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema has been one of the most vocal campaigners for a more leftist economic policy under President Jacob Zuma, demanding among other issues that the state should assume majority ownership of mines.

The country's mines minister said last year that South Africa would not nationalise mines, although the African national Congress said it would allow debate on nationalisation.

South Africa is the world's biggest producer of platinum and one of the top producers of gold, although the influence of mining on GDP has declined, particularly as gold reserves become exhausted.

Malema said the youth movement had drafted proposals to be presented to the ANC later this year, including amendments to the mineral and petroleum resources development act "wherein the state should own not less than 60 percent of the shares".

"Our position is that banks are going to be nationalised (but) we want to start first with the mines. Our position is inspired by the Freedom Charter," Malema told a media briefing.

The Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955 by the ANC and parties representing South Africans marginalised under apartheid.

"If there is an investor who is afraid of our restructuring, they are not welcome," Malema said.

In a statement, the youth league said nationalisation should be accompanied by a thorough transformation of state-owned enterprises, adding that it would involve expropriation "with or without compensation".

The comments are likely to further unnerve investors already worried that Zuma could give in to pressure from labour union and communist allies who helped him to power last year and are demanding a swing to the left, away from existing pro-business policies, as payback.

"If any investor leaves here ... other investors are going to come," Malema said on Monday. "Investors must be aware we have a strong communist friend China... They will invest here, they will mine here."

Local media reported last month that top ANC officials were pushing for the state to take over ownership of South Africa's central bank, one of the few in the world to still be owned by private shareholders.

Zuma said in a TV interview last month that talk about debating controversial economic policy points between the ANC and its allies should not worry investors because nothing has been decided about policy.

Zuma would not say what his personal position is on nationalisation, only that the matter has not been discussed widely by the alliance.