AFP

ANC Youth League president Julius Malema.

ANC Youth League president Julius Malema and Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe were the elephants in the vast arena housing nearly 6 000 people at the Cape Town International Convention Centre this week.

Although just about all the important names in international mining with interests in Africa – including Anglo American chief executive Cynthia Carroll – were at the Investing in Africa Mining Indaba, the stamp of these pariahs was, undoubtedly, on the proceedings.

Just about every mining country in Africa was represented by their mineral resource capitalists and their mining ministers, except Zimbabwe.

Just 10 days ago, Malema was in town champagning and dining mates, including he-of-sushi-on-the-tummy fame Kenny Kunene. He attended the opening of Kunene’s ZAR club and warned Western Cape Premier Helen Zille to keep her liquor laws – which seek to stop (sale of) liquor after 2am – away from the “ANC’s nightclub”. Malema has previously pledged to personally make sure that the DA did not get re-elected in Cape Town and the province.

Mugabe – whose illegitimate government has passed laws effectively outlawing foreign majority ownership – has not been to Cape Town as far as one knows, since he addressed Parliament during former president Nelson Mandela’s term, but his onslaught against international mining and other sector companies in his country was a constant theme at the indaba.

The lack of clarity about the mining investment environment in southern Africa meant that Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu had to maintain a stiff upper lip as her government’s vacillating stances were dissected, principally by Carroll. She made no bones about the damage done by “the false prophets who argue for nationalisation”.

Malema, of course, was not mentioned, but there was little doubt about whom she was referring to.

In a speech on Tuesday, she said mining companies “simply will not invest if they cannot be assured that the assets they create will be secure”. The false prophets were advocating “the road to ruin”.

Inevitably, Shabangu got into a spot of trouble with Malema’s youth league, but also was cut down by ANC general secretary Gwede Mantashe.

Emphasising that nationalisation was “not an option”, at least in her opinion, she added that “given that there has been noise about the issue, as the ANC we have a responsibility to go out and investigate what it means to substantiate the decision that would be taken”.

One could tell she felt like she was between a rock and a hard place.

She added a little unhelpfully: “We need to establish facts and substantiate what would drive us to reach a destination of nationalisation.”

Mantashe said Carroll and Shabangu were “not adding value” to the process, accusing Carroll of “a pre-emptive attack”, while the ANC was going to great lengths to research the implications of nationalisation in 13 countries.

He asked why Anglo American was aggressively opposing a discussion in South Africa while it accepted different ownership arrangements in Chile or neighbouring Botswana.

The trouble is that South Africa and Zimbabwe are keeping the world guessing, endlessly shooting themselves in the proverbial feet. It is at the expense of the confidence of investors. - Donwald Pressly