APA-Johannesburg (South Africa) A decade after South African police killed 34 miners in Marikana in North West province for demanding better pay packets, opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has reiterated his call for the government to take over the mines to be under its control.
Malema was speaking on Wednesday at the mountain side where the miners were mowed down by police bullets as part of EFF’s pre-celebrations ahead of the party’s 10th anniversary in October.
The EFF leader said the government needed to keep at least a 60-percent state ownership of the mines whose proceeds would finance development in the country.
“This organisation (EFF) has a history of fighting against mines which do not use their resources to uplift the communities surrounding them,” he said.
Malema said the EFF would not back down on its call to have the state take over the mining sector.
The EFF’s call for the nationalisation of mines in the country dates back as far as 2013 and was one of the main items in the party’s 2019 manifesto ahead of the country’s presidential polls.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has, however, rejected the idea, saying that the state’s coffers would not afford such a risky operation.
NM/jn/APA