[Ferro-Alloys.Com]Should South Africa Nationalise its Mining Industry? The nationalisation of natural resources has always been a muddy area for any nation’s economic and political waters; mostly because it lacks the clarity of certainty. This area may be considered a pivotal factor for any nation’s economic future, political landscape, and its relations with neighbouring, allied, and direct trading nations.

 

The Conclusion - our analysis and decision on the matter (should SA nationalise?). Alright then, get the tea ready and let’s dive in.

 

Nationalisation is the act of taking private assets or industries into public ownership by a national government or state [1][2]. Let’s try and get a less text book definition shall we: nationalisation is when a nation decides to buy or get more control, and thus ownership of one or more of its major industries (or resources) from the companies involved.

 

Each government has a choice on which industries or assets to nationalise, however; the natural resources, banking, energy, transport, land and agricultural industries have proven quite popular in the history of nationalisation [2][4]. Beautiful Bolivia has had bitter run-ins with nationalisation before the recent one with natural gas; once with the tin industry in the 1950s, again with the hydrocarbon industry in 1937, and the infamous continuation of the hydrocarbon saga in 1969.

 

Despite these burned fingers, the formidable President Evo Morales went for another meet with nationalisation; a fulfillment of promises made during election campaigns about the country’s natural gas industry [4]. Morales’ approach wasn’t without theatrics though; he seized control of the various natural gas private corporations using the military (1st of May 2005), and then offered the foreign private corporations, six months to renegotiate their contracts or vacate the country.

 

Needless to say, the main companies involved sounded a loud cry, backed by their countries and a few cases of hostility.