Johannesburg - ANC Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema on Wednesday snubbed the Mining for Change forum by not turning up to deliver his address as the keynote speaker.
Alan Fine of AngloGold, one of the sponsors of the forum, told delegates before the late start to the debate that "it appears Mr Malema is not going to turn up".
Fine apologised to the other speakers, who included academic Steven Friedman, as well as the invited audience.
When a PR person was asked where Malema was, she said that she had tried telephoning him but he had not answered his phone. She also said that she had heard that Malema claimed not to know anything about the event.
When the forum had finished, Fine once again apologised to all.
"There seems to have been a communication problem between the ANCYL spokesperson and Mr Malema but we were assured weeks in advance that Mr Malema would be here."
ANC Youth League spokespersonFloyd Shivambu told I-Net Bridge that there had been a misunderstanding in communication about the event and that Malema was in Limpopo "writing his exams".
Malema is currently awaiting the decision following his disciplinary hearing before the ANC's disciplinary committee. The hearing arose after the ANCYL had called for regime change in Botswana.
According to reports in The Star, Malema will know his fate on Thursday.
Malema was supposed to have addressed the forum on state participation in the resources sector.
The ANCYL has for some time been calling for the wholesale nationalisation of SA mines and the forum was organised by AngloGold Ashanti, in partnership with Motjoli Resources and the producers of the documentary film Mining for change: A story of South African mining.
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