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>We, the youth of South Africa, the unemployed, marginalised, homeless,
>the economically downtrodden, and all of us who wish to have access to
>quality free education, housing, electricity, and sustainable livelihoods
>demand urgent economic freedom in our lifetime. Economic freedom in our
>lifetime means total achievement of Freedom Charter objectives,
>particularly on the transfer of wealth to the ownership of the people as
>a whole.
>
>The South African government whose executive authority is at the Union
>Building is where political power resides. The attainment of political
>power meant that it should be deliberately and decisively utilised to
>redress the imbalances of the past, build a democratic developmental
>state, and ensure sustainable political, social and economic emancipation
>of those oppressed, excluded, exploited and subjugated by colonial and
>apartheid white supremacy. Together with Parliament, the Executive
>carries and power and weight to radically transform society for the
>better.
>
>We come here as Economic Freedom Fighters carrying the burden of the
>millions of the economically excluded, subjugated, oppressed, exploited
>and depressed South Africans in the Economic Freedom Mass Action under
>the leadership of the ANC Youth League to make the following demands:
>
>
>To the Executive at the Union Buildings we demand the following:
> 1. Amendment of section 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of
>South Africa to make provision for the expropriation without compensation
>of property, particularly land, for equitable redistribution in the
>public interest and for public purpose.
> 2. Urgent enactment of a policy framework and programme which will
>focus on the food economy and empowerment of communities to produce food
>for themselves and food for their immediate schools, hospitals, prisons
>and other public and private institutions that consume food.
> 3. The South African government and all State institutions should by
>2014 be buying a minimum of 40% of food for hospitals, schools and
>prisons from small scale farmers and agricultural practitioners.
>All productive land must be nationalized, and provided on lease-basis as
>opposed to freehold to those interested in utilizing the land in line
>with our national priorities.
> 5. Nationalization of strategic sectors and the commanding heights of
>the economy to realise the Freedom Charter’s clarion call that the people
>shall share in the country’s wealth. As per the dictates of the Freedom
>Charter such strategic sectors must include “the mineral wealth beneath
>the soil, the Banks and monopoly industry”. The state must also have
>greater ownership and control SASOL, Arcelor-Mittal, the Cement Industry,
>and creation of a reliable, consistent State Oil company.
> 6. Establishment of a State Bank, which will have direct relationship
>with the Reserve Bank and used to finance rural development and
>industrialisation, mortgage and vehicle finance and financing of small
>and medium enterprises and businesses.
> 7. Increased funding for the National Youth Development Agency.
> 8. Urgent prioritisation of eradication of informal settlements
>across the country. The Ministry of Finance should dedicate all resources
>to the eradication of informal settlements, instead of subsidisation of
>established corporations and companies.
> 9. Urgent electrification of neighbourhoods and settlements with no
>electricity, and re-connection of electricity was cut off by
>Municipalities.
> 10. Urgent provision of water and sanitation to all communities which
>do not have access to these services.
> 11. Urgent prioritisation of provision of skills and free quality
>education to all students until attainment of the first post-tertiary
>qualifications. This should include speeding up the establishment of
>Universities in the Provinces of Mpumalanga and Northern Cape.
> 12. Immediate banning of Labour Brokers and illegalisation of all
>Labour brokering process.
> 13. Urgent filling of all vacancies in all spheres of government and
>public service. The State should relax experience requirements for young
>employees, particularly at employment entrance levels with clear
>programme to transfer skills and empower new and younger employees in all
>spheres with employment generation potential and capacity.
> 14. Immediate development and adoption of a spatial development
>framework which will lead to development of new economic centres and
>cities in other parts of South Africa.
> 15. Development and adoption of an industrial strategy which will
>lead to promotion of exportation of finished goods and services and
>import substitution.
> 16. Creation of a Sovereign Wealth Fund whose proceeds will be
>directed to investments in the development and growth of the African
>economy.
> 17. Adoption of a more progressive foreign policy which will lead to
>South Africa prioritising trade, political, economic and social relations
>with countries that share the same values with what guides the National
>Liberation Movement. This should include active isolation of countries
>that openly embrace imperialism and threatening Africa’s security.
> 18. Building of a strong State capacity to fulfil its functions,
>particularly in the delivery of services in order to substitute the
>practice of the State tendering, outsourcing and contracting the
>provision of services and construction of vital infrastructure and
>settlements.
> 19. Demand that the South African government desists from renting
>buildings for state accommodation purposes but rather construct and/or
>own all buildings where it is accommodated in all spheres of government.
> 20. Establishment of a bursary scheme which will fund a minimum of 10
>000 students every year studying in the best Universities across the
>world.
> 21. All forms of economic planning and allocation of resources in
>South Africa should consider the reality of socio-economic migration,
>both legal and illegal migration. The labour rights of immigrants should
>be protected within the labour laws of the country.
> 22. Establishment of new industrial development zones as part of a
>conscious and deliberate strategy to uplift the economies of rural
>communities and begin to abolish the rural/urban divide.
>
>Further demand the following from the South African government:
>
> 1. Nationalisation of South Africa’s Mines. The State should own and
>control a minimum of 60% of South Africa’s Mines.
> 2. Local beneficiation and industrialisation of a minimum of 60% of
>the minerals extracted from beneath South Africa’s soil. The
>beneficiation should happen in the communities where Mining happens.
> 3. Provision of education, skills and expertise to South African
>youth in order to capacitate them to play a meaningful role in the entire
>mining value-chain.
> 4. Betterment of working conditions in all Mines to prevent avoidable
>fatalities and diseases.
> 5. Better salaries and wages for all Mineworkers, and provision of
>full employment for workers currently employed as contract workers.
> 6. An end to import-parity pricing on the South Africa minerals to
>boast the manufacturing, industrialisation and infrastructure development.
> 7. Active involvement of Mining corporations in the development of
>Mining communities, particularly on the construction and maintenance of
>roads, health facilities, schools, technical training colleges, and other
>public infrastructure.
> 8. Local manufacturing of supplies and other necessities required for
>mining, including beneficiation and industrialisation.
> 9. Development of a concrete social and labour development model,
>which will ensure that communities around the Mines are developed out of
>the proceeds of Mining,
> 10. Re-alignment of South Africa’s Industrial Policy and action plan
>around to consider the reality that the State will be in control and
>ownership of Mines and mineral resources, so as to guide a concrete plan
>on minerals’ beneficiation and industrialisation.
> 11. Amendment of Section 25 of South Africa’s Constitution to empower
>the State to expropriate in the public interest with or without
>compensation.
> 12. Cessation of threats of disinvestment by Mining Capital.
> 13. Compensation of Mining communities that continue to suffer
>diseases and infections as a result of Mining and minerals’ extraction,
>particularly the asbestos communities.
> 14. Urgent action plans and programmes from all private corporations
>which will lead to the transfer of wealth to the ownership and control of
>historically disadvantaged individuals. By 2019, the ownership and
>control of companies and corporations doing business in South Africa
>should reflect the demographics of South Africa.
> 15. Urgent action plans and programme from all companies and
>corporations in the JSE on how to increase and sustain the
>labour-absorptive capacity of their companies. This should be accompanied
>by thoroughly drafted human resources, skills transfer, training, and
>education provision with sustainable care programmes. This should happen
>within two years.
> 16. Urgent action plans from all private corporations on how to
>decentralise South Africa’s economic development from the existing
>centres of economic development to other parts of the country. This is
>vital and should be incentivised through massive public infrastructure
>investments and tax incentives for corporations with practical plans to
>increase their labour absorptive capacity to a minimum of 5000 within 2
>years in new areas of economic development.
> 17. Urgent action plans and programmes from all private corporations
>to employ workers directly with proper payments and benefits and NOT
>through labour brokers.
> 18. Urgent development and implementation of Corporate Social
>Investment plans, which will bring real value and benefit to communities
>where business operations happen.
> 19. End to expatriation of the profits to developed countries such as
>New York, Paris and London.
>
>The demands to the South African government are not only urgent, but can
>be realised sooner because government holds the political power to change
>society for the better. It is through political and mass power that the
>South African State and particularly government can transform society
>into a better society inspired by the Freedom Charter programme and
>aspirations.
>
>These demands are genuine and should be acceded to with immediate effect,
>because we cannot afford to wait any longer.
>
>Signed by the ANC Youth League and RSA Government.
>
>