The ANC in Gauteng has rejected calls for the expropriation of land without compensation and the nationalisation of mines.
Speaking at the party’s provincial general conference in Tshwane, provincial chairman Paul Mashatile said delegates were open to the idea of state intervention in the mining industry, but rejected outright any suggestion of a “blanket nationalisation” of the country’s mineral resources.
Mashatile said they also wanted the redistribution of land to be fast-tracked, but were opposed to calls for land to be expropriated without compensation.
The ANC Youth League and the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) have made it clear in the past week that they will be pushing for these suggestions to be adopted at the ANC’s national conference in Mangaung in December.
Numsa has also said that it will be supporting leaders who advocate these positions in Mangaung.
Mashatile said: “The provincial general council agreed that the state must intervene in all sectors of the economy, but should not impose a blanket nationalisation of the mines.
“This can be done through a state-owned mining company which will be used as a tool for intervention. But we don’t support the view that says we must just nationalise all the mines.”
On the issue of land, delegates had agreed that there must be compensation by the state for land that was expropriated, Mashatile said.
“Delegates have also emphasised that we must pay special attention to the issue of food security when dealing with this question of land. We can’t have a situation where we are importing most of our food,” said Mashatile.
He said delegates supported the notion that foreigners should not be allowed to buy land, but to lease it.
Provincial secretary David Makhura said the province had instructed its members and branches to start assessing the leadership of the ANC before Mangaung. However, he emphasised that the ANC in Gauteng would not say publicly, until the “time is right”, which leaders it would support for election at Mangaung .
Asked what position delegates had taken on the ANC Youth League’s pronouncements regarding Mangaung, Makhura said:
“The league and other structures of the ANC should deal with matters in a disciplined manner. Structures of the ANC cannot have public policy positions that are contrary to the policy positions of the ANC.”
The two Gauteng leaders warned there would be consequences for anyone in the provincial structure who made public pronouncements about their leadership preferences at Mangaung before the province did so.
They called on the ANC to take action against anyone who did so.
Makhura confirmed that the allegations of wasteful expenditure of taxpayers’ money levelled against Gauteng’s MEC for Local Government and Housing, Humphrey Mmemezi, had been referred to the party’s integrity committee.
Mmemezi is accused of, among other things, using taxpayers’ money to pay for a painting and his state-issued credit card for shopping sprees during a visit to India.
The Star