ANC U-turn on mines

[DigitalSoldier]

Nationalising mines is not a government priority, a member of President Jacob Zuma's executive has told the Mail & Guardian. And Chamber of Mines chief executive Mzolisi Diliza has warned against allowing ideological battles in the ANC-led alliance to dominate debates on nationalising the country's key economic assets.

"Our key strategic agenda at the moment is to maintain the infrastructure development and grow the economy to create decent jobs," the executive member said. "Nationalisation is definitely not on the agenda."

"The calls for nationalisation must be reasonable, not ideological," Diliza said. And in the current economic crises, the government is unlikely to consider calls to nationalise key economic assets, he said, pointing out that the mining industry alone is worth more than R2-trillion.

"How is the government expected to raise the money to take over the industry while there are more pressing issues that require its attention?" Diliza asked. "Besides, what is it that the state will do better that is not done by the private sector to run the mines?

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-07-12-anc-uturn-on-mines

At least the ANC have spoken out against nationalisation for now.

 

[R13...]

Misleading title there - what U-turn?

 

[DigitalSoldier]

Misleading title there - what U-turn?

title taken from m&g website.

 

[grayston]

Misleading title there - what U-turn?

The original Freedom Charter, which drew on Communist ideals, wanted pretty much everything nationalised.

However, when the ANC took over, it realised that 1994 wasn't the same as 1950, so the idea was dropped.

Then the ANCYL forgot how to count, and suddenly 1950s ideas became fashionable again.

So it's actually more of an S-bend than a U-turn...

 

[DJ...]

Took them long enough ffs - not sure why this type of rubbish can't be slated at the time of spewing.

"How is the government expected to raise the money to take over the industry while there are more pressing issues that require its attention?" Diliza asked. "Besides, what is it that the state will do better that is not done by the private sector to run the mines?

Wow - some common sense being used - I like it!!

Now this is the type of stance they need to take with the communist party and their little cousins, the ANCYL - be straightforward and to the point about it. One doesn't just "acquire" without compensation...

 

[RetroBok]

Misleading title there - what U-turn?

A week or so ago there was an article in one of the online papers calling for nationalisation of the mines. That's where the U-Turn is. Like grayston says it's part of the Freedom Charter, that document or set of core principles that the ANC wanted in South Africa, some of those principles are rather very scary, if not for the sheer stupidity of them, but for how naive the ANC were in those days.

Unfortunately they distributed this charter to the people in locations who are only now bitching and moaning about those principles not being fulfilled. It served it's purpose, it got them into power.

Go take a read: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/charter.html

 

[R13...]

A week or so ago there was an article in one of the online papers calling for nationalisation of the mines. That's where the U-Turn is. Like grayston says it's part of the Freedom Charter, that document or set of core principles that the ANC wanted in South Africa, some of those principles are rather very scary, if not for the sheer stupidity of them, but for how naive the ANC were in those days.

Unfortunately they distributed this charter to the people in locations who are only now bitching and moaning about those principles not being fulfilled. It served it's purpose, it got them into power.

Go take a read: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/charter.html

Obviously the M&G suffer from some sort of disease that makes them see/hear selectively. The minister of mining or whateva explained last week or so that the Freedom Charter was being quoted selectively by COSATU's proxy (Malema). The charter according to her says that mineral rights should belong to the people (state in this case). The ANC have indeed nationalised those rights and those wanting to mine apply to the state to do so.

 

[Rahl]

I suspect we are seeing the masters of spin at work here.

One party introduces the concept which is then vehemently denied by the other party. We then drop the topic for a few months and before you know it it has been approved and we are up to our knecks in the doo-doo.

 

[Aeron]

Of course not. Brett Kebble didn't give millions to the ANCYL just to have its parent body eat the company where he got his millions from. No siree, Nicky Oppenheimer is much too comfortable in seat at the head of Anglo American. And since Anglo American let the ANC use its prize property Vergelegen as a base in pre-94, it's obvious ANglo AmeriCan and ANC have hands deep in each other's pockets.

 

[semiautomatix]

The ANC neither confirmed nor denied the ANC YL/YCL comments on nationalisation.

I stated earlier that the ANC has realised in the last 15 years that actually running a country is a whole different kettle of fish to what was expected in 1954 in Kliptown.

The world has changed, communism has fallen and the ideals of the mid-1900s have been replaced. The ANC never did a u-turn, it was never their intention to nationalise mines.