ANC Youth League deputy president Ronald Lomala.
ANC Youth League deputy president Ronald Lamola belted out the organisation’s stance in Centurion on Tuesday and reiterated the league’s willingness to push for the adoption of nationalisation at the ANC’s elective conference in Mangaung in December.
At the ANC national general council in 2010 the league forced the ruling party to place nationalisation of mines firmly on the agenda.
The ANC NGC later commissioned a research team to conduct a research into the best models of nationalisation throughout the world. The research team’s report is currently under discussion by branches of the ANC ahead of the party’s policy conference later this month.
The controversial proposal has split the ANC-SACP-Cosatu alliance. Last month, treasurer general of the ANC, Mathews Phosa, told delegates from the Progressive Business Forum (PBF) in London that the government would not nationalise any businesses but that the ANC would debate the matter in Mangaung.
Cosatu affiliate National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has demanded that the union’s national conference, currently under way, discuss changes to the Constitution to allow for nationalisation.
Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said: “Without nationalising the banks, mines and key strategic sectors of the economy, any sensible person will tell you that it is impossible to achieve balanced and sustainable economic growth without first liberating the whole of society from the dominance of the minerals-energy-finance complex.”
Lamola on Tuesday turned the screws on the debate, warning white land owners that nationalisation is non-negotiable.
“The South African white capitalist minority must prepare themselves for the inevitability of nationalisation,” he said.
Lamola echoed the words of Malema by saying that economic freedom for the majority of the population is imperative.
At the league’s policy discussion workshop, which took place over the weekend, it was decided that a ministry ensuring “expropriation of land without compensation” must be set up.
Lamola also came down hard on the ANC for being “indecisive” in certain matters and criticised the ANC for prioritising the mobilisation of society against The Spear painting, and neglected other issues. The youth league was not part the mass protests that took place over a week ago.
“When we march over The Spear while there are other serious issues in our country like service delivery protests, rape and unemployment, what does it say about the ANC as a leader of society and transformation? What does this say about the priorities of the liberation movement?” he asked.
Lamola also emphasised the importance of the ANC being decisive over matters relating to land redistribution and to “never be apologetic about its mandate … not to the DA nor to Afriforum”.
Deputy secretary general Kenetswe Mosenogi agreed, and said the government takes too long to make effective decisions, “even with amendments to section 25 of our Constitution, government always puts the interest of the investor first”. The section seeks to protect the rights to people’s property, allowing expropriation only on two conditions: the public interest and compensation.
Mosenogi went further by saying that the country is bound to fail if there is indecisiveness in our education system. She cited the Eastern Cape’s education crisis as an example of “indecisiveness on the part of the president and on the part of the minister to deal radically with the problem of education in this country”.
The league also weighed in on the Mdluli matter. The former police intelligence chief has been suspended three times since November last year, and on Monday the labour court made a decision to rescind the lifting of Mdluli’s most recent suspension.
“Mr Mdluli must go; he is bad for South Africa. He is still like an apartheid officer,” Lamola said.