South Africa’s parliament has voted in favour of a motion that will begin the process of amending the country’s Constitution to allow for the confiscation of white-owned land without compensation.
The motion was brought by Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, and passed overwhelmingly by 241 votes to 83 against.The EFF leader Julius Malema told MPs: “The time for reconciliation is over. Now is the time for justice.
“If the grandchildren of Jan Van Riebeeck have not understood that we need our land, that over and above it’s about our dignity then they have failed to receive the gift of humanity. We do not seek revenge.”
“Land must be expropriated without compensation for equal distribution.”
The only parties who did not support the motion were the Democratic Alliance, Freedom Front Plus, Cope and the African Christian Democratic Party.
It was amended but supported by the ruling African National Congress and new president Cyril Ramaphosa, who made land expropriation a key pillar of his policy platform after taking over from ousted PM Jacob Zuma earlier this month.
“The time for reconciliation is over. Now is the time for justice,”. “We must ensure that we restore the dignity of our people without compensating the criminals who stole our land.”
A 2017 land audit report by the department of land reform states 72% of farm land is owned by white owners, followed by coloureds (people of mixed race) at 15%, Indians at 5% and blacks at 4%.
ANC deputy chief whip Dorries Eunice Dlakude said the party “recognises that the current policy instruments, including the willing-buyer willing-seller policy and other provisions of Section 25 of the Constitution may be hindering effective land reform”.
ANC rural affairs minister Gugile Nkwinti added, “The ANC unequivocally supports the principle of land expropriation without compensation. There is no doubt about it, land shall be expropriated without compensation.”
Thandeka Mbabama from the Democatic Alliance party, which opposed the motion, said there was a need to right the wrongs of the past but expropriation “cannot be part of the solution”. “By arguing for expropriation without compensation, the ANC has been gifted the perfect scapegoat to explain away its own failure,” she said in a statement.
“Making this argument lets the ANC off the hook on the real impediments — corruption, bad policy and chronic underfunding. Expropriation without compensation would severely undermine the national economy, only hurting poor black people even further.”
Pieter Groenewald, leader of the Freedom Front Plus party representing the white Afrikaner minority, asked what would happen to the land once it was expropriated. “If you continue on this course, I can assure you there is going to be unforeseen consequences that is not in the interest of South Africa,” he said.
If the grandchildren of Jan Van Riebeeck have not understood that we need our land, that over and above it’s about our dignity then they have failed to receive the gift of humanity- I couldn’t have said it better.
No Xhosa, Zulu, Twana or Pedi or Venda was at the Cape when Jan van Riebeeck arrived, or for many years after that.
If you want to talk about past injustices as far back as the colonial period, perhaps you should get your facts straight.
JK – Where did Jan van Riebeck come from and where were the Xhosa, Zulu, Twana or Pedi or Venda when Jan van Riebeck arrived?
abilima,
Jan van Riebeeck came from The Netherlands and the bantu tribes migrated down from central Africa originally and settled in the eastern parts of SA. The settlers only met Xhosas many years after their settlement at the Cape. Their encounter with the Zulu much later after.
As a farmer in Zambia this is good news for me. The following will follow next AFTER EXPROPRIATION OF LAND:
a). LIKE IN ZIMBABWE – MOST OF THE BLACK BENEFICIARIES WILL NOT HAVE CAPACITY TO PRODUCE FROM THIS LAND.
b). LAND PRODUCTIVITY WILL DECLINE IN RSA – HENCE THERE WILL BE LESS IMPORTS OF FARM PRODUCE FROM RSA INTO ZAMBIA.
c). SHOPRITE, PICK&PAY WILL HAVE NO OPTION BUY TO PROCURE LOCAL FARM PRODUCE FROM WITHIN ZAMBIA.
d). THE NEW MARKET WILL MOTIVATE MORE ZAMBIAN FARMERS TO UP THEIR GAME AS THEY WILL START REALIZING REAL BENEFIT FROM THEIR PRODUCE.
e). RSA WILL START IMPORTING FARM PRODUCE FROM ZAMBIA AND ZAMBIAN ECONOMY WILL BLOSSOM.
White South Africans never learn from their past mistakes. During apartheid, they mistreated black people and they’ve not stopped doing that even in post apartheid South Africa. Last night I watched a documentary on Youtube by some Canadian wh0re called “Lauren Southwern’. She insulted black people and said that blacks are incapable of running any enterprise. She said a lot of bad things about black people collectively. Boers were forgiven for all the inhuman treatment they subjected black people to. On the other hand black people never did anything to the Boers even though they had a chance to revenge. I don’t understand where the Boers hatred for a black person comes from. Boers must be chased now.
@C.General. ..it’s a sad day for South Africa. It’s another Zimbabwe on the horizon. Yes it’s good to give land to the blacks, but what will they do with it? Some will build taverns on it while others will just sell it back to the Boer. So Ramaphosa is brainless just like Zuma?
Fast forward – 30 years from now.
Zambia will be doing the same to the Chinese.
Regardless of right or wrong… this decision initiates a downfall of the S.Arica as we know it.
Oh so they want to go the Zimbabwe route. It’s good because we all saw the economic boom Zimbabwe went through when that happened. M0r0ns.
Zimbabwe was a different scenario altogether. Even if they become like Zimbabwe let them have access to their land. Just look at the land audit report in the article. Even here in Zambia we have a lot of people who own big pieces of land where they do nothing serious but it’s their land. Racist Boers don’t deserve any piece of South African land. After all the bad things they did in the past they still want to practice racism and treat black people like trash. Let them fucck off (to borrow their own words). I am sure they’ll come to Zambia where they’re tolerated and insult miners on a daily basis.
That’s what happens when politicians become selfish…I hope south Africans have done their research deligently and thus give land to black people who can utilize it. You guys need to learn from the mistakes Zimbabwe made.
That said, lets dissist from telling the electorates what they want to hear.
I like this. The next president of zambia should get back all the land sold to Chinese
Historical land ownership needed to be approached with modern lenses. When a war is fought and won, then descendants need to adopt certain measures that protect interests of losers and winners. If losers of today adopt revenge posture, then the likelihood of retribution is enhanced. Why not compensate? Why not negotiate a tariff through professional consultants? Or a we saying a new Apartheid is inevitable? The game is up. Bitterness must be channeled to building a better society. Remember to compensate First South Africans first.
Dr Kasonde,
You make a valid point.
The vast majority of beneficiaries (those who were successful with their land claims in RSA) rather opted to be financially compensated, instead of taking the land. Problem is, all those benificiaries are not taken into account in current figures of land ownership, since our ANC government tends to over simplify the narrative to fit their own arguments.
Land reform has been implemented since the fall of Apartheid. It is, however, failure on the current government’s side to efficiently implement and manage land reform. They now want to explore the route of land expropriation without compensation to once again make up for their own incompetence.
What I’m trying to say is that there’s nothing lacking in SA’s Constitution, but rather an uncapable,…
Two wrongs do not make a right. Yes, historical conquest placed land in hands of conquerors. Now that democracy is here, it is possible to strive for a win-win outcome. This includes reliable inventories or land audits, accurate records of dispossession, recognition of unfair and/or inhuman treatment, technical appraisal of applications for land ownership to avoid speculation. These are variables that also need to be taken into account. The concept of taking anything from anybody without gratification, compensation or legal procedure could not be condoned yesterday, today or tomorrow. Inflammatory statements from leaders could mislead innocent people into xenophobic attacks. Why opt for a violent route when a peace route is also available?
Replying on your remarks (5.2):
I agree with everything except with possible xenophobic attacks.
Whites in South Africa are not foreigners, especially the Afrikaners. They do not hold dual nationality, they haven’t had links to Europe for more than 300 years. They only know the African sun on their skin and the African soil beneath their feet.
They cannot can not compensate… ask the whites to compensate Africans for slave trade and they will ask you to go to Heeellll.
That besides the point, SA has developmental projects and compensation will derail those projects. If anything they can channel that money to building houses for blacks who were taken to Heeelll by these whites.
It’s time for Africa to pay attention to its own people. It is not revenge it is correcting a wrong!
Whether this land expropriation without compensation is right or wrong, the winner of this vote is no other than Julius Malema himself…
Good move.Whites sometimes think africans are so stupid due to corrupt leadership we have.we can’t black pipo develop the land?who told you that black can’t think?Time to be counted and innovative.If China,South Korea can do it what about us black people.In school or universities we used to be on top of these white people.why can’t i be on top when it comes to developing the nation.Africa wake up!
eff started as a joke. now they are influencing all policies. they are the reason zuma is gone.
if you watch and listen to malema debating now compare to a couple of years ago. you’ll see the change in his temperament, his tone and general demeanor is that of a mature seasons negotiator. I like him. anc is so scared of him because he understands them and knows all their dirt
land needs to be given back to blacks, whites who need to work the land can lease it from the rightful owners (short tem or otherwise). right now land is in the hands of minorities
the south African freedom charter states that ” the land shall be shared among those who work it” that’s what the charter says.
anc came up with the policy of ” willing buyer willing seller”, that’s what’s happening in…
Well said, @Mukolwe. What you will notice with the up and coming South African politicians is that they are going to school, unlike ours who even resist the minimum academic or school qualification. Ndlozi is a new PhD, Malema graduated with a degree and is planning to add more to his knowledge store. There is a lot to learn… I am sure the expropriation will not be as haphazard as the Zimbabwean one. Functional education IS a thing.
While black people need to be given the land that was stolen from them, then need to implement this policy causiously. But all in all its a good policy.
I agree.
But it should be determined which property/land was stolen/expropriated under Apartheid laws and which was not. Whites in SA are portrayed at present by certain politicians to have stolen all property/land that they currently own. This in itself is completely false.
Total ru.bbish and serious lack of foresight. I thought Zimbabwe is SA’s neighbour and they want to go the Zim way. And where is Zim now. What a disaster.
Some whites even settled in SA way before Blacks came to work for them and today ati its our land. Watch the space and see greater resistance. Wina azafa!
Disaster!
In 1993 the IMF and the World Bank sponsored an Indaba on land liberization in Zambia but the meeting was boycotted by major stakeholders such as the BRE and the ensuing 1995 land Act was rejected by all societies. The MMD nevertheless went ahead to make this law. Unlike the South African blacks, we have enough land but the problem is it’s not accessible to the poor due to the high cost and complicated process. As a result poor people opt to illegally settle on state and private land. It would be nice to see government find means for the poor to own land and also protect them from selling this land to rich people.
LT what’s there moderate?
The Boers can go back to Holland and buy land their. Good job SA. Next Zambia, all Chinese UKO, this is our land!
OUT!!
There’s a major difference between the Boer/Afrikaner in South Africa and the Chinese migrants in Zambia. Educate yourself on the topic, please.
In Zambia the problem we have is that landing acquisition is too expensive and too complicated for the poor people. I hope the move won’t Zimbabweanize RSA.
Good decision for RSA. Is you look at the land distribution ratio you can’t condemn the move, That the end of The noise maker and boer bootlicker maimane and his DA party. Malena has exposed the force behind the Democratic Alliance. They cannot stand up for black south African because they have the duty to defend Jan Van Riebeeck grand children who are the arrangant Maimane pay-masters. I hope HH will now choose whether the Boers or his fellow black man. If I were him I will befriend Malena.
This is a blessing is disguise for Zambia. If only our politicians, both opposition and ruling were not always fighting.
The British have finally defeated the Boers. This war started in Europe and had a spill onto African soil. Anyway, they needed to share the land adequately. There is no way Africans in south Africa only had access to 4 percent of the land.
Fantastic news, whites cannot be the only people on this earth allowed to get away with injustices against their fellow human beings. Even slavery was against humanity for which they have not been made to account.
Redistribution of Land should have been the agenda for all freed African States after independence from the colonial rulers.
However, the matter should be a matter of course and not a racial matter. It’s understandable that Africans respond with racist rhetoric to redistribution of land. Emphasis should be Equality not racial divide. Indigenous populations should use their votes to oust Leaders that do not pay attention to their Rights.