KwaZuluNatal residents expropriation of land is a non-negotiable

The Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure went to the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) recently to give the people of the province an opportunity to express their views on the Expropriation Bill. KZN was the fifth province to be visited by the committee for public hearings on the Bill, writes Sureshinee Govender.

At the hearings, the overwhelming majority of residents in Umzinyathi, King Cetshwayo, Zululand and eThekwini districts supported the Bill. They argued that expropriation of the land is a non-negotiable issue in South Africa, as it will redress the injustice done when their they were disposed of their land through the system of colonialism.

Most participants in Umzinyathi District told the committee that they support the Bill because it will restore their dignity, which was taken from them by a minority when they were dispossessed of their land. They argued that the Bill is the best mechanism to redress that historical injustice.

There was a minority in Umzinyathi who argued that the Bill will have farreaching negative implications, particularly on food production and employment of farm workers. Furthermore, the Bill may also have unintended consequences, if it discourages local and foreign property investors at a time when South Africa is trying to encourage foreign investors.

Farmworkers who participated in the hearings in Umzinyathi expressed their support for the implementation of the Expropriation Bill. They told the committee that they do not have cemeteries on farms to bury their relatives. They also told the committee that when they leave the farms, they have to ask permission to come back to visit the graves of their relatives and at times are not allowed to do so.

They told the committee that they are prohibited from practicing their culture and that they live under difficult conditions on farms. The lamented that they are not allowed to keep livestock or plant for their subsistence and called for the speedy implementation of the Expropriation Bill.

The committee heard that fertile land is in the hands of the white people in the Umzinyathi District. The residents used the opportunity presented by the hearings to inform the committee about the problems they encounter on a daily basis. They told the committee that they do not get the assistance they require from officials in the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform in Pietermaritzburg regarding progress on their claims.

At KwaMandlazini Hall, one of the farm workers told the committee that he worked all his life on a farm, which was bought by the government and was given to a certain person. He said he represented farm workers who had applied for that farm. He asked the committee about the criteria used for awarding farms to the people if those who had worked on it were unable to get it. He said they support the implementation of the Bill, as the land must be returned to those who work it.

Farm dwellers at the same hearing told the committee about the severe conditions under which they live on the farms. They told the committee that if they speak freely that could cost them and their families a place to sleep tonight. They said the government must expropriate the land that is owned by white farmers who own thousands of hectares of land, whereas black people don’t have land. They said they support the expropriation of land without compensation, as they have been working on these farms all their lives and gained nothing after that.

At the Ulundi public hearings, the residents who are living on Ingonyama Trust land expressed contrasting views on the future ownership of the land belonging to the trust. Some told the committee that the land must not be tampered with, while others argued that it should be given to amakhosi and izinduna to own and manage on behalf of their subjects. They were in support of the Expropriation Bill.

They told the committee that the Bill must be implemented because it is supported by the majority of the people. They called for the return of the land to the majority of the people. They said the appropriation of land must be followed by provision of resources to the new beneficiaries. In addition, they must be empowered with skills and training to enable them to use the land productively.

The residents told the committee at Richards Bay’s KwaMandlazini Hall that they needed land to build a police station and a clinic, as there is currently no land to build those very important centres of service. KwaMandlazini residents told the committee that they believe that the implementation of the Bill is urgent and will mark the beginning of the alleviation of socio-economic problems, such as unemployment and poverty.

The youth told the committee at all the hearings that the government must ensure that expropriation of the land is followed by empowerment of the new land recipients and provision of resources to work the land. They are ready to work the land.

The absence of some traditional leaders at the hearings concerned the residents at Ulundi hearings. The Chairperson of the committee, Ms Nolitha Ntobongwana, informed the residents that the committee had extended an invitation to the public hearings to all stakeholders, including the National and Provincial Houses of Traditional Leaders, labour organisations, civic organisations, political parties, and religious and cultural organisations to the public hearings. She said the committee hoped that all traditional leaders would be present at the public hearings to express their views on the Bill.

As some of the residents raised issues related to land restitution process during the public hearings, Ms Ntobongwana emphasised that the committee is driven by Section 59 of the Constitution, which allows the people to raise issues related to the Bill. Issues outside the ambit of the Bill will be referred to the attention of the relevant parliamentary committees for the attention of the relevant government departments. She said the committee will consider all the views it received on the Bill at Parliament. It will then compile and submit a report about the public hearings in the National Assembly.