* South African president urges economic transformation
drive
* Says post-apartheid economy still mostly in hands of
whites
* Calls for “equitable share” of mineral wealth, land reform
(Recasts, adds details, quotes)
By Jon Herskovitz and Peroshni Govender
JOHANNESBURG, June 26 (Reuters) – South Africa’s economy is
still largely under the control of whites who held power under
apartheid, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday, and he called
for a “dramatic shift” to redress the wealth balance more evenly
in favour of the black majority.
Such calls have been a staple of ANC strategy documents for
years and Zuma’s policy speech comes months before he will seek
re-election as leader of the faction-ridden movement in
December. He has also been facing demands from the party’s youth
wing to nationalise mines and seize white-owned farmland.
Zuma, speaking at the start of a major policy meeting of his
ruling African National Congress, said the challenges of
poverty, unemployment and inequality posed long-term risks for
Africa’s richest country 18 years after the end of apartheid.
“The structure of the apartheid-era economy has remained
largely intact,” Zuma told several thousand ANC delegates.
“The ownership of the economy is still primarily in the
hands of white males as it has always been,” he added.
Continued…
