Land expropriation motion gets MPs’ backing
Overwhelming support for move in parliament
We must ensure that we restore the dignity of our people without compensating the criminals who stole our land
THE ANC emerged victorious after it won major concessions from the EFF and other opposition parties on the motion on land expropriation without compensation. The motion, which would include a review of the constitution, was sponsored by EFF leader Julius Malema and passed by an overwhelming majority of 241 votes in favour versus 83 votes against the proposal in parliament yesterday.
“We must ensure that we restore the dignity of our people without compensating the criminals who stole our land,” Malema said while presenting the motion.
The DA voted against the motion, a move which could undo its loose coalition deal with the EFF.
In a rare show of unity, both the EFF and the ANC agreed during the debate in the National Assembly on the issue that expropriation without compensation could not be avoided.
The two parties have often clashed on a number of issues.
However, in what could be seen as a drastic change in relations, Malema said that the ANC seemed to be meeting all its conditions while the DA with its stance on expropriation without compensation was drifting away from the EFF.
The EFF’s and DA’s opposing views on expropriation could sound the death knell on their cooperative agreements.
The EFF voted for DA mayors and speakers in metros including Nelson Mandela Bay, Johannesburg and Tshwane to ensure that the ANC was removed from power.
The DA relies heavily on EFF support in these metros.
The DA hopes to oust the ANC in 2019, perhaps as part of a coalition, and it will almost certainly need the support of the EFF, which has established itself as the thirdlargest party in parliament.
The draft resolution by Malema got the backing of other smaller parties, including the IFP, National Freedom Party, Agang SA, and the African People’s Convention.
Besides the DA, COPE, the ACDP, and Freedom Front Plus vehemently opposed the EFF motion.
The ANC, which recently resolved to back expropriation without compensation, supported the EFF motion, with amendments.
One of the amendments the ANC wanted to include was to highlight that the current willing buyer, willing seller principle might be hindering land reform.
It also highlighted in its proposed amendments that the government would be making use of all mechanisms at its disposal “in a manner that increases agricultural production, improves food security and ensures that the land is returned to those it was taken from”.
The ANC proposed further that the constitutional review committee review Section 25 of the constitution, if necessary.
It will now be up to the committee, after wide-ranging consultations, to determine whether changes need to be made.
The committee has until August 30 to report back to parliament.
The ANC agreed at its conference in December to push for amendments to the constitution that will pave the way for the government to expropriate land without compensation – a move that observers say will spook investors.
The EFF, which has long called for expropriation without compensation, previously offered the ANC its 6% representation in parliament, which would give the governing party the required two-thirds threshold to amend Section 25.
Malema said during the debate yesterday that the offer still stood.
He said it took the formation of the EFF for the land issue to be revived, after the post-apartheid ANC government “forgot its mandate and built a false reconciliation without justice”.
“All our people ever wanted was their land in which their dignity is founded,” he said.
“Let us come together and agree on this call to expropriate land without compensation.
“It is not unconstitutional to amend the constitution.”
Former rural development and land reform minister Gugile Nkwinti, who was shifted to water and sanitation in Monday night’s cabinet reshuffle, said the ANC unequivocally supported the principle of expropriation without compensation as moved by the EFF, although “we might disagree on the modalities”.
Nkwinti cited a land audit last year which found that black people still owned a paltry 4% of the land, while whites controlled about 76%.
DA MP Thandeka Mbabama said the call for expropriation of land without compensation was an attempt by the ANC government to hide its own failures.
“Expropriation without compensation fundamentally undermines property ownership in South Africa,” she said.
“The property clause in Section 25 of the constitution states that property is not limited to land.
“This poses serious risks to investment in agriculture, and by extension South Africa, if expropriation without compensation is implemented.”