* South African president urges “economic transformation”
* Calls for “equitable share” of mineral wealth, land reform
By Jon Herskovitz and Peroshni Govender
JOHANNESBURG, June 26 (Reuters) – South Africa’s economy is
still mostly under the control of whites who held power under
apartheid and the government needs to take more drastic steps to
make sure the black majority can benefit from its wealth,
President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday.
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 said.
The ANC has drafted a raft of policy documents that call on
mining firms to pay more to the state to help finance welfare
spending. The proposals also advocate relying on state-owned
enterprises to be engines of job creation and growth.
“The time has come to do something more drastic towards
economic transformation and freedom,” Zuma said.
Continued…
