zuma speech raises south africa mines national, page-16

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster so please go easy on me.

I was in SA at the time of the speech and watched the entire thing. It should be noted that whilst Zuma sanctioned the state mining company for minerals of strategic significance, most of the wording in the short section on mining was paraphrasing the Mining Act in respect of the state being custodians of the country's mineral wealth, much as the same is true here in Australia.

I should also point out that mining minister Shabangu at the Indaba in Cape Town has defiantly come out opposing nationalisation.

Of the people on the ground I spoke to, the overwhelming view was that whilst Malema is great at selling newspapers and fear mongering, Zuma needs to balance the competing agendas of encouraging investment in the country whilst also appearing to listen to the youth league of his party. Almost all of the several people I discussed this with viewed the investigation into nationalization as lip service and it would likely result in a 'No' recommendation from the ANC.

I'm certainly not an expert on these matters, but I thought a balanced and measured view on this topic is in order given some of the outlandish and questionable antics of one or two on this forum.

I hope this helps.

Dttexitsign