S Africa President Vows Economy Reclamation

South African President Jacob Zuma says the country’s economy remains in the hands of the “white males,” urging democratization of the ‘apartheid-era’ economic system.

“The structure of the apartheid economy has remained largely intact and has not included higher or inclusive growth,” Zuma told a key policy conference of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in Johannesburg on Tuesday. 

“The ownership of the economy is still primarily in the hands of white males as it had always been,” he stated at the opening of the four-day event. 

The South African leader further highlighted the need for the ANC to “democratize and deracialize the ownership and control of the economy by empowering the African community and blacks in general.”, according to Press TV.

Around 3,500 party and alliance partner delegates from the country’s nine provinces were expected to attend the Johannesburg conference to discuss a “second transition.” 

The rule of the apartheid regime in South Africa finally ended in 1994, but the white minorities — who account for around 10 percent of the population — still own as much as 80 percent of the land in the black continent’s financial and mining hub.