‘Odd couple’ pushes ANC on land reform
TWO young MPs are leading a change in parliament’s approach to land reform. Thomas Walters of the DA and the Economic Freedom Fighters’ Andile Mngxitama could not be more different, but together they are making life difficult for the ANC in the rural development and land affairs portfolio committee.
They also add to Rural Development and Land Affairs Minister Gugile Nkwinti’s grey hairs as he sometimes struggles to hide his irritation with their robust questions.
Their challenges, from very different perspectives, have contributed to clarity on the issue of reforming racially skewed land ownership.
Walters takes the measured approach, in which land is a complex issue on which constitutionally sound action is imperative because certain decisions could bring disaster.
Mngxitama’s is more direct: land was stolen and the property clause of the constitution should be repealed. The EFF has offered its votes to the ANC to attain the two-thirds majority to do so. The ANC is unwilling and Mngxitama argues that this perpetuates apartheid land ownership.
When the Sunday Times questioned the odd couple (separately, as ever), they agreed the greatest danger was if the portfolio committee became a mere ANC rubber stamp. While Walters and Mngxitama view their roles on the committee as moving the ANC out of its comfort zone, their solutions are diametrically opposed.
“We are there to try to shift this debate onto a responsible course where ultimately we can create opportunities for people and share a future,” said Walters. “There is everything to gain in win-win partnerships leveraging our historic strengths in agriculture towards fixing apartheid and the ANC’s legacy,” he added, citing Western Cape successes in this regard.
Mngxitama said: “I’m in the committee to raise the land policies of the EFF, specifically land expropriation without compensation. The ANC is being exposed as agents of current apartheid land redistribution. They actually have no coherent response to the superior logic for redistribution proposed by EFF. The offer [to help change the constitution] the EFF has made incidentally sharply divided the house between those who support the colonial anti-black status quo and those who want change. There is not much space for manoeuvre for the ANC.”
The pair are uncomfortable commenting on each other.
Mngxitama says Walters is “skilfully keeping the ANC to the historic compromise on land redistribution”.
“He even got Minister Nkwinti to guarantee to white land owners that the ANC won’t amend the constitution. In some twisted way, he is keeping the ANC in line to show they don’t stray from the path of maintaining apartheid land ownership.”
Walters is critical of the EFF’s approach.
“The EFF strategy is to get into the media with outrageous statements. It is not sustainable, because the public gets bored of politicians if they do not vary their approach.”
Asked whether the DA and EFF could constitute a pincer movement to extract greater clarity from the ANC on land issues, their answers are illuminating:
“Indeed!” said Mngxitama. “The EFF demands the ANC move to the left and answer historical injustices, while the DA insists the status quo makes sense. The ANC is forced to choose between the two lines. That, in a dialectical sort of way, assists to clarify the real position of the ANC.
“For us, this is an important part of ideological work and conscientisation of the people. They get to see that the ANC is not their real friend and the socalled differences between the ANC and DA are cosmetic. The ANC is doing a great job in pushing a DA agenda, but history is on the side of the EFF.”
Walters says he likes working with organisations where you know where you agree and where you disagree. However, he says: “The EFF unfortunately reflects an internal fight in the ANC that went ugly and I do not truly take them seriously at this stage. It is based on . . . ANC Youth League culture where ambitious young politicians revved up the revolutionary jargon to get themselves noticed in the ANC in order to access very unrevolutionary wealth and perks.
“Simply saying farmers are racist and the constitution must be changed before playing around on your latest iPad becomes old after the first few times.”