ANCYL: good riddance to foreign investors

Deputy President of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) Ronald Lamola. Photo: Mujahid Safodien.

Deputy President of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) Ronald Lamola. Photo: Mujahid Safodien.

Published Jun 8, 2012

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South Africa would welcome the flight of foreign investors scared off by nationalisation and expropriation, ANC Youth League deputy president Ronald Lamola said on Friday.

“We are told that investors are going to be scared away when we speak about the economy. Good riddance. South Africans will take over.”

Lamola made the comments as he addressed the ninth national congress of the National Union of Metal Workers of SA (Numsa).

Lamola came under fire over comments he made on Tuesday that if white South Africans did not hand land over to poor blacks, there could be land invasions like those that took place in Zimbabwe.

He reiterated his call for section 25 of the Constitution to be amended, saying it was an impediment to the nationalisation of mines and the expropriation of land.

The call to nationalise was no different to the British Government's 2008 acquisition of the majority of the shares of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.

To thunderous applause Lamola told the delegates that the SA Constitution “was ours” and that “we brought it here”.

“The ANC must never apologise for wanting to amend the Constitution. We brought the Constitution to South Africa. It's ours. If there is an impediment, we must amend it.”

A constitution that was praised around the world was no good if the majority of South Africans were living in squalor.

He said detractors' comments that ANCYL nationalisation and land expropriation calls would result in a Zimbabwe-like situation was not something that scared people who were living in extreme poverty in townships like Alexandra.

Referring to metal workers, he said that their professions were being controlled by whites.

“All the professions are controlled by the white man. This must come to an end. The state must intervene.”

He said blacks had been admitted to the professions “for the sake of compliance”, which was “a cosmetic exercise”. - Sapa

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