EFF hand in spate of land invasions
Malema bolstered by governing party agreement on expropriation
LAWLESSNESS and violence as part of a province-wide campaign to grab land have been put squarely on the shoulders of the EFF after it was emboldened by the ANC agreeing on the issue of expropriation without compensation.
Provincial EFF leader Bernard Joseph said it was taking instructions from leader Julius Malema – if people see land that is suitable for living, they should utilise it.
Hermanus is the latest town to be rocked by violence in which a police station and library were gutted, stemming from a protest over land for houses and services.
The violence continued yesterday, after Parliament’s decision on expropriation, with land grabs occurring in Hout Bay, Strand and Philippi.
Joseph said the community approached the EFF leaders in the district because there was a great need for land to build houses and provide municipal services.
“The municipalities are not going to provide houses for people. Our people need land to build their lives,” Joseph said.
He said the party’s plan to ensure all dispossessed people have land is far from complete. “It is still in the early stages, but we need to secure land for housing. That is one of the biggest needs for our people. We are also concerned about food security and will do what is needed to protect that. This does not exempt farmers. People should not take any land, but if there is land that is suitable, then it must be used,” he said.
Asked why they were not willing to wait for the parliamentary processes, Joseph said: “That is the same thing other people will say while those who are landless are suffering. The municipalities are not going to build houses, so people are working towards that on their own,” he said.
EFF national spokesperson and MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi previously called on white farmers to realise that putting their farms on a mortgage was not going to help them. He said the quickest way to get into a workable solution was to help facilitate equitable distribution of the land for all.
Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said the ANC has opened the door for the EFF and will have to deal with the consequences. “I can’t understand why a party with 62% majority would bow down to a party with a 6% of the vote. While the ANC has spoken about a parliamentary process, the EFF has a totally different stance. They have been saying that land should be taken without compensation since they came to Parliament,” Mathekga said.
He said the issue will be volatile for as long as the land expropriation without compensation process drags on. “The ANC has danced to the EFF’s tune and we are going to have to stand with fire extinguishers in our communities to blaze whatever frustration might be there.”
ANC provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs condemned the destruction of critical infrastructure and violence in Hermanus.
“We support the community’s call for prime land to build integrated and quality houses. This is the cause we have been fighting for over and against a DA government that fears integration. We have watched over the period of the DA’s control of the municipality in coastal towns like Hermanus, Caledon, Grabouw, a troubling phenomenon that has made these towns meaner and more divided,” he said.
Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald said since last week land invasions and occupations had occurred across the country. “This is a direct consequence of President (Cyril) Ramaphosa and the ANC/EFF’s decision to amend the constitution to make expropriation without compensation possible – one can’t help but wonder if the decision was not merely taken to promote certain political agendas.”
DA spokesperson on local government Masizole Mnqasela said it was committed to resolving service delivery issues.