President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday reiterated that a plurality of views on nationalisation was healthy and urged opposition politicians to debate the issue with African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) leader Julius Malema if they disagreed with him.

"We have dealt with this question very sufficiently; that government policy is not nationalisation and this is what we have explained as well when we were in Great Britain and there is no confusion," Zuma said in response to a question in the National Assembly.

Dion George from the Democratic Alliance (DA) asked Zuma what steps he would be taking to ensure that the economic message to investors on the part of the ANC and its partners is coherent and non-contradictory.

"The issue is very clear. That is why the response by the finance institutions to South Africa has been very positive," Zuma responded.

"We separated, in our last discussion, the question of the policy and the issue of South Africans whether they belong to the ANCYL or whoever to raise their questions, their feelings about issues.

"We cannot [stop] people from raising certain issues and I said that was the issue before, that if you talked about nationalisation you go to Robben Island.

"Those who hold different views as you do, engage Julius Malema. Prove to him that he is wrong. He is talking in the media, you talk to the media as well.

"Engage him and engage the country to say Malema is wrong... It is a public debate, debate with Julius Malema."

The response echoed comments by the President in February in his reply to the debate on his State of the Nation address.