Applaud little steps Ramaphosa’s taking to resolve land issue
THE recent declaration by President Cyril Ramaphosa to talk about the thorny topic of land expropriation in order to avoid panic, once and for all, was well received by many. This will ultimately assure the nation that the land issue will finally be resolved.
South Africa took a bold step to accelerate the transfer of land from white minorities to blacks as a result of Parliament backing the will of the people that seek to change Section 25 of the Constitution to allow land expropriation without compensation. More has been done behind closed doors to address racial ownership disparities in land ownership. On the other hand, the government is hoping to establish a Land Court, which will deal with issues of land expropriation and other existing bottlenecks, which have severely hampered the land redistribution process.
The president also talked about the implementation of the Traditional and Khoisan Leadership Act, to commence in April, in recognition of the status of the Khoisan communities.
Even though the land question is taking time to resolve, I want to applaud those little steps that the Ramaphosa administration is taking.
The country’s historical and highly skewed distribution of land is a source of inequality and social fragility and the people cannot wait any longer.
I, therefore, urge all different sectors of the government, including the judiciary, human rights commission, the business sector, and our farming community to work together to enable the laws passed by Parliament to really assist in making sure that there is social cohesion, peace, and harmony in dealing with the land issue.
Working in isolation will not help our country to move forward. I have full confidence in Minister Thoko Didiza to deal with a lot of burning issues that still affect our people in the passing of the laws that will see us fast-track equitable land redistribution.
At the centre of land redistribution is a meagre budget allocation. The government needs to invest billions to support the land redistribution programme because citizens have high expectations and want the land question to be put to rest. Looking at the positives, the efforts of the government is a perceived political will that will undeniably support land redistribution, which is also a human right. Happy Human Rights Day! RANKEPILE KHOMO