POLITICAL economist Moeletsi Mbeki has called on the Democratic Alliance to support the ANC Youth League's call for economic freedom in this country.

Mbeki, who was addressing the Economic Freedom In Our Lifetime debate organised by the DA in Johannesburg yesterday, said there were no huge differences between the league and the DA.

"The DA promotes individual opportunities. If I were asked I would say that the DA should actually support the economic freedom campaign that the ANC Youth League wants.

"Malema (ANCYL leader Julius) himself is an entrepreneur and has strong links with entrepreneurs in Limpopo. Instead of playing the man (Malema), the DA should support economic freedom, which is about promoting entrepreneurship. Then you can debate if the ANC Youth League's call for nationalisation of mines is the right thing to do or not."

Mbeki said promoting entrepreneurship and not Black Economic Empowerment will solve the country's economic woes.

"Black Economic Empowerment was and still remains a bribe to politicians for protection," Mbeki told the DA delegates

He said the creation of jobs and not race should be the obsession of South Africans.

Mbeki said politicians, banks and big companies were the biggest obstacles to the creation of entrepreneurship.

He cited the hostile trading environment that a soft drink company, Pepsi, encountered when it wanted to reinvest in South Africa. He blamed Anglo American and SA Breweries for ganging up on Pepsi, which he said was now imported from Namibia.

Mbeki said the DA must be vocal against capital flight from South Africa.

ANCYL spokesperson Floyd Shivambu said the league was doubtful that the DA would support the economic freedom campaign "in its totality".

DA leader in Gauteng and convenor of the debate Jack Bloom said his party supported economic freedom but not as interpreted by the ANCYL.