Nationalisation of Mines means the democratic governments ownership and control of mining activities, including exploration, extraction, production, processing, refinery, beneficiation and trading of Mineral Resources in SA. Mineral Resources refer to more than 50 non-renewable precious, industrial and chemical stones extracted from mines in South Africa. This includes but not limited to Gold, Platinum Group Metals, Chrome, Coal, Manganese, Diamond, Copper, Metals, Alluminium, etc. The democratic governments ownership and control should happen through a democratic, open and decisive legislation of Parliament, which will ensure that the Mineral Wealth is used for the benefit of the people, development and growth of South Africas economic activities. First is the understanding that Nationalisation is not a be-all and end-all of economic transformation. In other words, having Nationalised key sectors of the economy does not economically mean that indeed the entire wealth is in the hands of the people and that the people will benefit from such wealth. Nationalisation is not a panacea for South Africas developmental challenges, but it should in the manner that we are proposing it, entail democratising the commanding heights of the economy, to ensure they are not just only legally owned by the state, but thoroughly democratised and controlled by the people - their workplaces, their management, and decision making process. The role of the revolutionary trade union movement and progressive professionals is critical in this regard. Secondly, Nationalisation should be accompanied by thorough transformation of (SOE) state owned enterprises. Much of the existing state-owned enterprises have much to be democratised and transforming such that they indeed benefit the people as a whole. In this context, the model of nationalised enterprises that are heavily bureaucratised is not attractive as does the existing SOEs corporatist models which tend to operate on similar values and principles of a private economy. Thirdly, Nationalisation should help build strategic capacity of the state to unlock resources for development and growth path that is more inclusive and equitable and does not heavily rely on exportation of primary commodities and importation of almost all consumer goods and services. The strategic capacity of the state through public ownership enables the state to lead other sectors to achieve these broader societal goals. The kind of nationalisation proposed is not generalised nationalisation, even of industries that are of no strategic importance. The most strategic industries, tends out to be largely monopoly industries, but it is debatable if public ownership should be limited to this sector.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 10:19:54 +0000
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