Johannesburg - ANC treasurer general Mathews Phosa has again
moved to assure the international business community that the ANC does not
intend changing its policy on the nationalisation of mines
"I wish to make it clear... that nationalisation is not
policy of the ANC, nor do we plan a shift in that direction," Phosa said
in a speech prepared for delivery at the Progressive Business Forum (PBF) in
London.
"The debate around nationalisation, foreign direct
investment and the improvement of our infrastructure has gone a long way
towards our deeper understanding that we need to ensure that there is no doubt
in investors' minds regarding the economic direction in which we want to take
the country," he said.
Phosa said the debate about the extent of the state's
intervention in the minerals sector was not a new one and had been debated
within the ANC for almost 60 years.
This was not Phosa's first attempt to assure international
investors that the ANC does not intend nationalising South African mines.
In October, he told the same forum that while
nationalisation of the mines remained an issue which drew a lot of attention,
it was still not government policy.
In November, Phosa told European ambassadors and high
commissioners that although there was "robust debate" over
nationalisation, the ANC did not anticipate major changes to its economic
policy.
This, despite a push for nationalisation by the then ANC
Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema.
The ANCYL is still calling for nationalisation, even without
Malema at its helm.
The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has also
proposed, in its policy discussion documents, that all South Africa's key
economic sectors, including mining and banking, be nationalised.
Numsa is a member of the Congress of SA Trade Unions
(Cosatu) - an ally of the ANC - which has itself defended nationalisation.
The ANC commissioned a report on nationalisation, which it
received in January.
On Tuesday, Phosa told the PBF that the ANC would debate the
report at its national policy conference in June and would make recommendations
on it at its elective conference in December.
"In my view, the middle always holds in the ANC, and
the outcome, as I have said before here in London is largely predictable,"
said Phosa.
"We will attempt to find this middle ground in
negotiated outcomes that will benefit global mining interests, but also create
substantial local opportunities and benefit."
Phosa said South Africa remained a favoured destination for
British companies which wanted to bring their expertise to Africa.
"The initiatives which our President (Jacob Zuma)
announced recently to roll out a number of substantial infrastructure projects
presents such an opportunity," Phosa told the PBF.
"You have proved repeatedly that you have that
expertise in your private sector institutions."