Briefing the media in Durban on Monday on the last day of the two-day policy workshop, provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala said teaching was a critical component to South Africa's growth and that it should be protected from industrial action.

"Teaching should be regarded as one of the essential services. Therefore it must be classified as such. So that we address a situation where people strike during critical periods. We believe that education is very important for the future of our country," he said.

Zikalala said that the ANC would engage teacher unions such as the SA Democratic Teachers' Union on the matter. The party is to hold a policy conference next week where a number of policy discussion documents are to be debated.

The policy discussion paper that has taken centre stage is the one on state intervention in the mineral sector, which the ANC Youth League wants implemented.

On the nationalisation of mines, KZN has decided against outright state takeover of the sector.

Zikalala said that, as the ANC enters the first decade of its second century, economic transformation should be high up on the organisation's agenda. "The state, private sector and labour should play a meaningful role. [However] we believe that a classical nationalisation of mines will be expensive.

"It will cost the state about R1-trillion. It will have massive economic consequences for our country, and on top of that the report [on nationalisation] is clear that it will be unconstitutional, unless we say we'll pay."

Zikalala said government should convene a national convention on economic transformation, which must develop binding agreements and programmes on the comprehensive economic transformation for South Africa. "It should be binding on all including the capitalists."

Touching on matters that directly affect the ANC, Zikalala said that in the organisational renewal discussion documents there is a proposal that the disciplinary committee should be composed of people who are not in executive structures or executive committees of the party.

He said that the documents proposes that at national level only the national chairman of the disciplinary committee should be a member of the national executive committee.

"We outrightly reject this proposal as it will undermine the political authority of the leading structures of the ANC."

He added that, NEC members should refrain from giving evidence or making representations against a member charged by the committee.

This would also go for the lower structures of the organisation, he said.

"[We will also propose] that no member of a structure that has evoked disciplinary action against a member of the ANC should be allowed to represent the member who is charged."

He said that the province will also call for lawyers not to be used by charged members in the disciplinary committee proceedings.

Zikalala said the province would propose the banning of songs that profile individuals other than a sitting president or fallen heroes of the organisation.