Pretoria - Mines should be nationalised to pay for university education, ANC Youth League president Julius Malema told students at the University of Limpopo's Medunsa campus in Ga-Rankuwa on Wednesday.
"If one mine takes over this university in terms of funding, you won't have to worry about government," he told the students to loud cheers.
He said that political emancipation had happened but that the African National Congress Youth League was fighting for the economic emancipation of blacks.
"I emphasise that our struggle remains non-racial. South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white. But they (whites) have never been oppressed. Our struggle is for economic emancipation."
Nationalisation had worked in Chile, Venezuela and Botswana, he said.
De Beers, which as part of the Chamber of Mines was opposed to nationalisation, was happy to work with the government in Botswana, ensuring that it received 50 percent of revenues, he pointed out.
The chamber was simply attempting to scare people and Malema questioned why the company was not working with the South African government.
He said that black economic empowerment deals were a failure and those blacks involved were simply beholden to the banks and mines, which were still owned by white males.
Mentioning Absa CEO Maria Ramos had earned R16m last year, he said she and the CEOs of the other major banks "are looting resources for themselves as individuals".
"We must take charge of these resources."
He praised both Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and the preceding white-ruled Rhodesian government for educating Zimbabwe's people better than "the qualified bantu education" that South African blacks had received in the past.
"You can say what you like about Zimbabwe, but one thing he (Mugabe) has done is educated his people. The Rhodesian government equally educated people."
The league would lead the fight to have the Medunsa campus of the University of Limpopo demerged from the institution.
He said the Medical University of Southern Africa should never have been merged with the University of Limpopo, but instead its resources should have been increased.
The University of Limpopo was formed in 2005 by a merger of the University of the North and Medunsa.
Since the merger, student numbers at Medunsa as well as academic teaching staff numbers had declined, he said.
"We want to bring back that pride of Medunsa. It will come back because the Youth League says so."
Malema said he had called Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande and told him that the league would be fighting to have Medunsa separated from the University of Limpopo.
He said Nzimande had told him the department would be launching a commission to investigate the issue.
"Any government investigation will show what we are saying. This merger is not working."
Malema also urged students to stick to a "one boyfriend, one girlfriend" policy.
He said he made this call to fight the spread of HIV/Aids among students.
"I don't know what causes Aids, but what we know is that we are burying our friends."
He urged student leaders to lead by example and to fight for resources and facilities for students. He said the league did not want student leaders who believed that should fight for beers for student parties.
He took aim at students who took too long to complete their studies.
"We don't want leaders who are going to turn this Medunsa into a new residential block. We have a duty to show that the university of blacks can produce the best of the best," he said.