AlQa'dah 29, 1432, Oct 27, 2011, SPA -- Police lined the streets of South Africa's commercial capital on Thursday with hundreds of youths set to march to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and Chamber of Mines demanding big changes to an economy still controlled by the white minority, Reuters reported. Led by African National Congress (ANC) Youth League leader Julius Malema, the marchers want President Jacob Zuma's government to do more to tackle the chronic unemployment blighting the continent's biggest economy. Their proposed solutions include nationalisation of the mines in the world's biggest platinum producer, and the seizure of white-owned farms. "We are here because the youth is marginalised by unemployment," said 29-year-old Given Valashiya, a Youth League official in Johannesburg. "Unemployment is high, so it is important to nationalise the means of production in South Africa as well as expropriate the land. We want to remind our president about these issues." About 25 percent of the population is without work. A study by the South African Institute of Race Relations said 50 percent of youth lack jobs, with half of 25-to-34-year-olds having little chance of ever finding them. Some businesses around the Chamber of Mines in downtown Johannesburg and the stock exchange in the upmarket Sandton financial district advised employees to stay home and tightened security in case the protest turns violent. By 0930 GMT the march had not yet started, with no explanation for the delay.
