Cabinet welcomes land expropriation motion

16th March 2018 By: News24Wire

Cabinet welcomes land expropriation motion

Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane

Cabinet is concerned "when people go internationally to protect white supremacy", Minister of Communications Nomvula Mokonyane said at a post-Cabinet media briefing on Thursday.

She added that the people at the extremes of the land debate – those propagating land grabs on the one end and those "demonstrating supremacy" – did not represent the whole of South Africa.

"We know when you have to deal with the real structures of a divided country, you will cause some discomfort," she said.

She also said that Cabinet knew that those opposed to land reform were not all white and mentioned AgriSA as an example of an organisation who provided constructive proposals.

"Cabinet welcomes the adopted motion to amend the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 so as to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation," read the Cabinet statement Makonyane presented.

"Government has, since 1994, worked hard to reverse the legacy of land dispossession under colonialism and apartheid. Working within the law, government has done much to ensure the continued productivity of the land, while speeding up the process of redress for those affected by land dispossession."

She said the matter has been referred to the Constitutional Review Committee, which must report back to Parliament by August 30, 2018.

"The recommendations to the National Assembly will be informed by a series of public hearings, followed by committee meetings."

Cabinet also urged communities to desist from illegal land invasions.

"We are a law-abiding and peace-loving country with adequate mechanisms of dealing with issues, including the land issue.

"South Africa remains open for business, and investments in agriculture and farming are welcomed. It is in South Africa's interests to have commercial farmers and this process can ensure we have even greater numbers of successful commercial farmers," the Cabinet statement read further.

Makonyane was asked about Australia's conservative minister of home affairs Peter Dutton, who said Australia was considering fast-tracking visas for white South African farmers because of the dangers he believed that they faced in South Africa.

She said this news broke while the Cabinet was meeting and they did not discuss it.