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Land expropriation hearings move to KZN

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The Constitutional Review Committee is in KwaZulu-Natal to hold public hearings on the possible amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution to allow land expropriation without compensation.

There are mixed feelings among political parties on the expropriation of land without compensation.

However, the majority of people including social movements and civic organisations support the move as, according to them, it will empower those who were dispossessed.

Poverty and inequality have prompted government to speed up land restitution to empower the people through land redistribution. Calls by political parties to expropriate land without compensation have been applauded and acknowledged, as it is expected to change the economic status of people who were dispossessed of their land.

According to the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform’s 2017 land audit,  31% of land is in the hands of trusts across the country.

KwaZulu-Natal, with 95% of privately-owned land follows very closely behind the Eastern Cape, Free State and Gauteng. In each of these provinces, 96 percent of the land is privately-owned. Whites still own the majority of the land.

These figures show major discrepancy in land ownership across the country. The public hearings on land restitution are seen as a solution to the land issue.

Landless People’s Movement’s Gcono Shabalala says the ordinary man in the street needs the land which was taken from the people, not the interpretation of the laws.

“We don’t see ourselves commenting much about section 25 and there are many acts under section 25 that have been implemented and rural development affairs implement them effectively. Our aim to go there is to express our views on what is that we need to do and what is going to happen from now. We don’t know anything about section 25 but govt officials must come out from office and work. They must go and ask for law experts that will deal with legal issue but we want our land back.”

Legal Resource Center’s Thabiso Mbhense  has called on government to ensure that such platforms are not used for election campaigns. Rather they must give the people an opportunity to express their views.

“For instance, we know that elections are next year, so it will be good if the parliament is not doing what is doing now for the purpose of getting votes. So, we are not sure whether political parties are trying to get votes and that is why they are talking about the issue of land now. We would appreciate if what parliament is doing is genuine.”

The Head of Agriculture and Natural Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Professor Albert Modi suggests that the land issue is not only for politicians – and that experts and economists must be involved.

“My suggestion is that whoever is making decision about land must get a team of people from researchers who work in agriculture, economists and politicians and we cannot to have only group pursing this without making other people part of the team.”

Political parties in the province are expected to send their representatives to present their views on the issue of land.

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