The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Ms Thoko Didiza on Friday (16 August 2019) addressed a Land Reform debate at the University of Mpumalanga, Mbombela Campus.
Addressing a conference hall packed with university students and land reform stakeholders, the Minister began her address as she indicated that the 1913 Natives Land Act hit the nail in the codification of dispossession into law.
“This Act led to large masses of people becoming pariahs in the land of their forefathers, as indicated by Sol Plaatjie in his book”, said the Minister.
Minister Didiza further indicated that we also need to be sensitive to other issues such as “what happens to a person who bought land in the open market and has not benefitted or inherited a piece of land?”. She therefore emphasised that in as much as the land issue may be explosive and emotive, we need to deal with the issues rationally without attaching emotions to it.
Attendees raised several concerns, with one farmer wanting to know what land will be targeted for expropriation and when a document will be produced to outline the process. In her response, the Minister indicated that a legal framework has not been finalised. She, however, mentioned that land that is lying could be considered and indicated that such as land ceiling should also be considered.
Another participant wanted to know whether the ‘willing buyer, – willing seller’ will still be used if Section 25 is reviewed. The minister indicated that expropriation without compensation was one of the tools that would be considered. She indicated that we should not forget that there are some landowners who are willing to donate their land.
As she drew towards conclusion, the minister said that spatial integration and economic livelihood should be investigated. There remains unequal land ownership in our country, which cannot be overlooked, and the onus is upon the current generation to deal with the current issues.
She furthermore indicated that the state has heeded the call to release the land that it owns for agriculture and land development. Deputy President David Mabuza is busy with the process.
There have been several discussions, including the 2005 Land Summit, which were held to discuss the land issue. Some of the Summit’s resolutions are now being revisited, such as the land expropriation and land tax. These are some of the proposals that were made and are part of the report. The slow pace of land reform continues to be a thorn in the flesh, with some of the political organisations such as the Economic Freedom Front (EFF) calling for land expropriation without compensation as well as the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC). It is these discussions that have led to the discussions on whether the Constitution needs to be amended or not, i.e. (Section 25), which were followed by the nationwide consultations which took place in the previous year.
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Issued by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Reform
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