'I don't think we are ashamed of importing gas from Russia. We are members of BRICS. We want to increase trade with Russia,' the minister of mineral and petroleum resources told Parliament.

Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe has said that the government and his department were "not ashamed" at the prospect of "importing gas from Russia". He also alleged that PetroSA had been "stripped to nothing" during the Zuma presidency.

The minister was speaking during a debate in Parliament on Thursday.

Taking to the floor for his maiden parliamentary address, uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party MP Nhlamulo Ndhlela said the government's "latency" regarding its upstream operations had been to the advantage of other African states.

"The current system overwhelmingly favours established white-owned businesses, leaving our most disadvantaged communities behind," he argued.

"The wealth generated from our national resources must be used to address unemployment, poverty and inequality in the townships as well as the rural areas. Now, when we look at the issues relating to nationalisation and equitable growth, the MK party believes in the nationalisation of the mineral sector."

Ndhlela pointed to the South African Petroleum Refinery (Sapref), saying it "should be refining its own product for sale and distribution via PetroSA as a retail network".

Without taking a breath, he asked his fellow members of Parliament, "Why should we be dictated to as to where we should be...