“There are public hearings under way. These hearings are important to allow us to give a fair undertaking on how the ANC views expropriation of land without compensation. There are areas where we agree across political parties. Political freedom without economic freedom is not complete freedom, we need to give people their rights to land so they can participate meaningfully in the economy,” Mabe said.
The known ANC position is that land would be expropriated under specific instances including: portions of farms with labour tenants, land owned by absent landlords, land held for speculation and land that is owned by the state or state-owned enterprises.
These circumstances are all outlined in the draft of the Expropriation Bill, which President Cyril Ramaphosa said must be speedily finalised during his response to the debate on the state of the nation address in June last year.
Ramaphosa said, “Expropriation is an important land acquisition strategy. It is important because it enables us to conduct land reform in a proactive and planned manner. This frees us from a wait-and-see approach dependent on market sales. Expropriation without compensation, in defined circumstances, allows us to do so at a cost that is reasonable for the South African people. But we must not lose sight that it is but one instrument in a much broader toolbox to achieve agrarian reform and spatial justice.”
Meanwhile, the EFF insists that all land must be nationalised. EFF leader Julius Malema told delegates at the Black Business Council summit that his party would not back down from its demand for all land to be nationalised.
Responding to a question, he said that an EFF government would not be deterred by threats of sanctions by the likes of the US government. He added that the EFF wanted a different model to that which was adopted in Zimbabwe.
“Land in Zimbabwe was not nationalised, it was given to politically connected individuals who were leaders of Zanu-PF; the state did not become the custodian of the land … so that which we are calling for is not the same as in Zimbabwe.
“Ours must be done within constitutional provisions, hence the call we made in parliament for the amendment of section 25 of the constitution.
“If America doesn’t like what people are doing with their constitution then it has (itself) to blame. You can’t sanction a democratic process, that would be an undemocratic process by America. We should not be threatened by what will be a democratic process. There can only be sanctions if there is an undemocratic process and violence,” Malema said.
Other panellists included UDM president Bantu Holomisa, DA policy head Gwen Ngwenya and IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa. Parties were unanimous in their call for the energy crisis to be resolved as it worsened SA’s economic woes.
Article by Times live
