ANC leaders colludes with mine managers, workers continue to suffer

The past two months have told a shameful story of the benefits received by ANC leaders from South Africa's mineral wealth while the majority of people continue to wallow in poverty and unemployment. Revelations of the interests in mining companies held by high ranking comrades confirm the long held view of the ANC Youth League that the people's legitimate call for nationalization of strategic sectors of the economy, particularly mines, were dismissed as a result of the narrow, vested interests some hold in these mining houses. Interests that have undoubtedly been proven to be individualistic, hypocritical and self-serving.

Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa has lost any credibility as a genuine leader of the people and a revolutionary committed to the cause of the working class. With his email to Police Minister, Comrade Nathi Mthethwa, Comrade Ramaphosa delivered the more than 40 people to their death at Marikana. Comrade Cyril's preoccupation with the preservation of his monetary interests in Lonmin led him to call for "concomitant action" to deal with the "criminal acts". As a seasoned unionist, the ANC Youth League expected more from Comrade Ramaphosa.

The criminal acts he spoke of were the legitimate calls of workers demanding a decent wage. We concur with the assertions made by the legal representative of the workers, Marikana was a premeditated murder of our people and Comrade Cyril has the blood of Marikana workers on his hands. Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa must apologise to the families of the injured and the dead for agitating and inciting the South African Police against them. Police Minister is still to answer from whom he gets his orders.

In this climate of selfishness and bloodcurling greed, other leaders of the ANC look on silently while mining houses continue to victimize and marginalise our people. Goldfields fires with impunity striking workers and threatens those who will not return to work with the same action. Prominent leaders of the ANC are shareholders of Goldfields and intentionally or unintentionally sit back and watch the spectacle unfold.

The African National Congress Youth League calls for a moratorium of all dismissals of workers and a return to order within the mining industry. It is a demonstration of failure or lack of leadership when management, organized labour and government are unable to steer the organisations they are meant to be leading.

The call for nationalization of mines has never been more urgent and we call on ANC leaders with vested interests in the mining industry to subordinate their interests in favour of the collective good of all in South Africa as demanded by the Freedom Charter

Statement issued by the African National Congress Youth League, October 24 2012

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