The ANC Youth League was eyeing changes to the property clause
in the Constitution after its ardent push for the nationalisation
of mines, the organisation's president Julius Malema said on
Thursday.
"The ANCYL's view is that the property clause should be amended
and that proper legislation should be passed by Parliament to
regulate how the state should expropriate private property in the
interests of the people," Malema told reporters at ANC
headquarters, Luthuli House, in Johannesburg.
"We no longer want township and rural areas, we want our people
to live as equals. Where there is land for settlement, lets get
that land for our people to settle.
"It doesn't matter where that land is located. If it is in the
beachfront of Cape Town, let's use this land for the benefit of our
people and let's not sell it to the foreigners."
The government has admitted that the willing buyer, willing
seller policy for land expropriation was not working.
"We need a government that will say we're going to take this
land then we will determine the price... take it, or leave it," he
said.
An "unambiguous policy position" was needed for the state to
take whatever land necessary for the people and itself decide on
the compensation.
"Now we are in charge, it's no longer negotiated settlements...
Through negotiated settlement, we said fine, we give you this and
you can give us this. And the Boers agreed," referring to the
negotiations during the transition to democracy.
"... why should we continue like we are still in a government of
national unity. Its important that people know that the ANC is in
power."
The ANCYL would push for a change in the ANC's policy position
on land after the ANC national general council (NGC), being held in
Durban from September 20 to 24.
Malema appeared confident that nationalisation of the mines
would be adopted as ANC policy, which would eventually inform
government policy.
Malema said that 90 percent of those attending the NGC would be
ANC delegates, and that the ANCYL would mobilise 70 percent of them
to support this position.
He again emphasised the importance of the Freedom Charter, used
as a basis for his support of nationalising the mines, in
formulating ANC policy.
"This extends to the resolution the NGC should take on banks,
monopoly industries, land, housing... and all the Freedom Charter
says we should realise."
The ANCYL wants the ANC to take on a much more "radical economic
transformation programme".
"We are using the NGC as a launch event for this radical
economic transformation," Malema said.
The ANCYL's aim is to take the ANC in an ideological direction
to accomplish this.
It would then deal with the question of leadership.
"We are not starting with leaders. We are starting with
programmes. We want a leadership that speaks to the programmes we
are talking about.
"The leader who emerges... is a leader who will commit to
radical economic transformation, transfer of wealth from minority
to majority unashamedly.
"We will never embrace a person who still salutes imperialism
and colonialism."
Malema also moved to allay fears about top ANC leaders being
removed at the ruling party's upcoming national general council.
"There's nothing that poses a threat to this leadership, you can
be rest assured," he said.
"If there's anybody we want to remove in the NGC, we will tell
you we want to remove this one.... There's no resolution of the
youth league to remove anybody."
The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu), an ANC ally, earlier
this year raised concerns about a plot to remove ANC president
Jacob Zuma and secretary general Gwede Mantashe at the NGC.
Media reports have also indicated that Zuma has fallen out of
favour with the ANCYL, who helped catapult him to the ANC
presidency. The growing dissatisfaction was over, among other
things, his comments on the nationalisation of the mines.
Malema blamed the media for "peddling" information about
leadership --reports were "thumbsuck[ing]".
"President Zuma remains our president until 2012, as to what
will happen in 2012 will be decided by 2012 conference of the ANC.
"President Zuma will be defended by us for as long as he's still
president."
Malema said only those who "suffered from lack of self
confidence" and were "paranoid" were panicking about the leadership
question.
"Some of them call us children, 'these children they are going
to remove us'. They forget it's the same children who have put them
there.
"When they were going through difficulties both in their
political life and personal lives, the youth league defended them.
"Some of them were going through courts... children supported
them in Pretoria courts. Today they go to papers and say, 'hey
children... you forget, its' nice now. There's no longer Thabo
Mbeki who's chasing you, it's nice," he said.
"It was children who made you... it was children who brought you
back into the leadership structures of the ANC."
The ANC NGC is a mid-term policy review and is the highest
decision-making body between national conferences. It will see
around 2000 delegates gather, fewer than 100 delegates would be
from the ANCYL.
in the Constitution after its ardent push for the nationalisation
of mines, the organisation's president Julius Malema said on
Thursday.
"The ANCYL's view is that the property clause should be amended
and that proper legislation should be passed by Parliament to
regulate how the state should expropriate private property in the
interests of the people," Malema told reporters at ANC
headquarters, Luthuli House, in Johannesburg.
"We no longer want township and rural areas, we want our people
to live as equals. Where there is land for settlement, lets get
that land for our people to settle.
"It doesn't matter where that land is located. If it is in the
beachfront of Cape Town, let's use this land for the benefit of our
people and let's not sell it to the foreigners."
The government has admitted that the willing buyer, willing
seller policy for land expropriation was not working.
"We need a government that will say we're going to take this
land then we will determine the price... take it, or leave it," he
said.
An "unambiguous policy position" was needed for the state to
take whatever land necessary for the people and itself decide on
the compensation.
"Now we are in charge, it's no longer negotiated settlements...
Through negotiated settlement, we said fine, we give you this and
you can give us this. And the Boers agreed," referring to the
negotiations during the transition to democracy.
"... why should we continue like we are still in a government of
national unity. Its important that people know that the ANC is in
power."
The ANCYL would push for a change in the ANC's policy position
on land after the ANC national general council (NGC), being held in
Durban from September 20 to 24.
Malema appeared confident that nationalisation of the mines
would be adopted as ANC policy, which would eventually inform
government policy.
Malema said that 90 percent of those attending the NGC would be
ANC delegates, and that the ANCYL would mobilise 70 percent of them
to support this position.
He again emphasised the importance of the Freedom Charter, used
as a basis for his support of nationalising the mines, in
formulating ANC policy.
"This extends to the resolution the NGC should take on banks,
monopoly industries, land, housing... and all the Freedom Charter
says we should realise."
The ANCYL wants the ANC to take on a much more "radical economic
transformation programme".
"We are using the NGC as a launch event for this radical
economic transformation," Malema said.
The ANCYL's aim is to take the ANC in an ideological direction
to accomplish this.
It would then deal with the question of leadership.
"We are not starting with leaders. We are starting with
programmes. We want a leadership that speaks to the programmes we
are talking about.
"The leader who emerges... is a leader who will commit to
radical economic transformation, transfer of wealth from minority
to majority unashamedly.
"We will never embrace a person who still salutes imperialism
and colonialism."
Malema also moved to allay fears about top ANC leaders being
removed at the ruling party's upcoming national general council.
"There's nothing that poses a threat to this leadership, you can
be rest assured," he said.
"If there's anybody we want to remove in the NGC, we will tell
you we want to remove this one.... There's no resolution of the
youth league to remove anybody."
The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu), an ANC ally, earlier
this year raised concerns about a plot to remove ANC president
Jacob Zuma and secretary general Gwede Mantashe at the NGC.
Media reports have also indicated that Zuma has fallen out of
favour with the ANCYL, who helped catapult him to the ANC
presidency. The growing dissatisfaction was over, among other
things, his comments on the nationalisation of the mines.
Malema blamed the media for "peddling" information about
leadership --reports were "thumbsuck[ing]".
"President Zuma remains our president until 2012, as to what
will happen in 2012 will be decided by 2012 conference of the ANC.
"President Zuma will be defended by us for as long as he's still
president."
Malema said only those who "suffered from lack of self
confidence" and were "paranoid" were panicking about the leadership
question.
"Some of them call us children, 'these children they are going
to remove us'. They forget it's the same children who have put them
there.
"When they were going through difficulties both in their
political life and personal lives, the youth league defended them.
"Some of them were going through courts... children supported
them in Pretoria courts. Today they go to papers and say, 'hey
children... you forget, its' nice now. There's no longer Thabo
Mbeki who's chasing you, it's nice," he said.
"It was children who made you... it was children who brought you
back into the leadership structures of the ANC."
The ANC NGC is a mid-term policy review and is the highest
decision-making body between national conferences. It will see
around 2000 delegates gather, fewer than 100 delegates would be
from the ANCYL.
