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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 Chamber of Mines is a recipient of Economic Freedom Mass Action
>because of its role in the history of racialised economic development of
>South Africa. This includes, but not limited to development of an
>exclusively white mining capital with massive influence and contribution
>to legislation that subjugated, excluded, oppressed and super-exploited
>blacks and Africans in the entire Mining value.
>
>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 Chamber of Mines we demand the following:
> 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.
>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.
>
>We expect urgent action plans and programmes on these demands, on the
>view that non concession to these demands will lead to social instability
>due to continued economic exclusion of the black majority and Africans in
>particular. We will never allow Mining business to continue to extract
>and massively benefit from South Africa’s minerals whilst our communities
>are left with diseases, deeper poverty and degradation of infrastructure,
>rivers and environment.
>
>These demands are genuine and should be acceded to with immediate effect,
>because we cannot afford to wait any longer.
>
>Signed by the Chamber of
>Mines______________________________________________
>
>
>Signed by the ANC Youth
>League______________________________________________