Former public protector Professor Thuli Madonsela says she’s not convinced that the public hearings alone will lead to the resolution of the land question.
The Constitutional Review Committee is holding public hearings on land expropriation without compensation, and the proposed amendment of Section 25 of the constitution.
Madonsela has lauded the process, saying it has given the people the platform to express their views on the complex matter.
Speaking on SAfm’s Sunrise she says: “The other nuances that are not being explored is the reality that the expropriation without compensation is not necessarily going to speed up the process. I got the sense from the people in the public hearings that people do want land, and secondly, they want that land and they are exploring expropriation because they think it will be faster and cheaper.”
“A lot of this cases are going to end up in court, even if we expropriate without compensation… we’re more likely to expropriate land that is not used… but if land is not used, it does not mean that it is not owned, and there are no rights. If its taken, that matter will end up in court and it could drag for years before people get land,” says Mandonsela.
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