Land is our freedom

I HAVE been following the public hearing on expropriation of land without compensation and I must commend the South African public with the participation and the energy that shown with robust engagement.

The participation and engagement gives one hope that the issue of land is being given its sensitive attention.

Land reform in South Africa is not a nice-to-have, but a national imperative. For South Africans, land is as precious a commodity as water and an issue as emotional and as deeply rooted as cultural expression.

Perhaps more than any one other thing, the ownership of land symbolises our freedom.

Land in South Africa is an economic asset and should be treated as such.

The division about land is still evident in the way we address land issues among ourselves as Africans.

We need to remind ourselves that this hearing is not only about land but about economic freedom in our lifetime.

People, especially our poor people, should have access to high-quality basic services that enable them to be wellnourished, healthy and increasingly skilled.

It’s about breaking the shackles of poverty, employment and inequality.

I think wherever our former president is, he is excited with these engagements.

As we celebrate his centenary this year we are reminded that there is much for us to discuss as we continue to forge a South Africa that brings out the beauty in all of us.

There are many roads still to walk, many rivers still to cross and many mountains still to be climbed.

It’s not going to be an easy road because there will be challenges and potholes along the way.

As our former president Nelson Mandela would say: “After climbing the many hills we climbed together in our attempts to give land to our people, we should not be surprised to find that there are still more hills to conquer, because as leaders we have the responsibility to place the interests of our people first.”

Therefore we should not slumber nor sleep in our quest to redress the landlessness caused by the discriminatory laws of apartheid.

So our journey is very long and cumbersome, we need to be ready to walk the long way to freedom.

Tshepo Diale Nkwe Estate