Hundreds of marchers descended upon the headquarters of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy in Tshwane on Tuesday calling for the nationalisation of all mineral resources in South Africa.
Leader of Land and Minerals Movement Zakhele Zuma said his organisation is marching from Burgers Park to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy as a way of standing up for the people of South Africa who are not benefitting from the mineral resources of this country.
“Our minerals are our identity as Africans, if they are taken away from us then we don’t have an identity any longer,” fumed Zuma.
“When we talk about our heritage as a collective, we are talking about minerals and today we are demanding from the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) the nationalisation of our minerals, a ban on exporting our raw mineral resources and call for all minerals to be refined locally in South Africa,” said Zuma.
“Our very own people must be given skills in refining our minerals so that our unemployed youths, graduates and the elderly get to be employed in this very sector of refining our minerals,” he said.
Zuma emphasised that it doesn’t make sense that the people of a country that possesses so many mineral resources are so poor.
“If you are a South African then you must know that the government owes you in terms of profits from mineral resources,” said Zuma as he pointed out that countries like Saudi Arabia only have oil as an economic commodity but they are using the selfsame oil to take care of their people because they have the interests of their people at heart.
“The cost of living in South Africa is very high, including the cost of electricity yet we have gold, copper and coal from which we don’t benefit, hence we are saying #National Payday, we need to be paid by the government from profits emanating from our mineral resources,” he said.
“This is the first march we have ever organised and we are representing different groups, movements and unions and even mine workers, and all these groups are the ones who have sent us here to deliver this memorandum of demands,” enthused Zuma.
Zuma told Tshwane Talks that they have given the government a 7-day ultimatum which will expire on 30 October this year and failure by the government to meet their demands will result in no one working at all mines and no trucks carrying minerals countrywide from that day going forward.
Africa Spear movement member Bethuel Mbilu said he supports the march because it seems like black South Africans were not really liberated in 1994, because if they had indeed been liberated, then today they wouldn’t be marching and protesting about the benefits of minerals to them as the indigenous people of this land.
Connie Mthembu from Soweto told Tshwane Talks that she actually supports a movement called #Ramaphosa Must Fall and that the ideals for which the marchers are complaining about resonate with those of her movement.
She called on Ramaphosa to step down as he has failed in governing the country in general and also on the issue of mineral resources.
Acting Director General for Mineral Regulation Rebone Nkambule received the memorandum on behalf of the DMRE and promised to respond in seven days as requested by the marchers.