Land inequalities must be faced head-on

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement earlier this year that the thorny topic of land expropriation would be discussed in order to avoid panic once and for all was well received by many, and it will ultimately assure the nation that South Africa’s land issues will finally be resolved.

The country has made the bold move to accelerate the transfer of land from white minorities to black people, driven by Parliament’s backing of the people who seek to amend Section 25 of the Constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation.

In addition, government is looking to establish a Land Court that will [rule on land-related disputes], which have severely hampered the land redistribution process.

President Ramaphosa also spoke about the implementation of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act [which came into effect on

1 April 2021], in recognition of the status of the Khoi-San communities.

Even though it is taking some time to resolve the land-related issue, I want to applaud those little steps that Ramaphosa’s 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.

Therefore, I urge every part of the government, including the judiciary, as well as the Human Rights Commission, 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 this matter.

Working [on this matter] in isolation will not help our country move forward. Rankepile Khomo, via email. Khomo is a communications officer for the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, but wrote to Farmer’s Weekly in his personal capacity.